The Honkai Knight
by Slowhite
Summary: How much death can one person stand? How many connections can be formed and broken in such a short period of time? How many civilizations will rise and fall before this cycle ends? And can you forgive the girl that caused it all?
1. The End of an Era

Summary: How much death can one person stand? How many connections can be formed and broken in such a short period of time? How many civilizations will rise and fall before this cycle ends? And can you forgive the girl that caused it all?

The End of an Era

Ash.

That was all the boy could see.

Ash that fell from the sky like rain upon the scorched earth.

Craters peppered the ground like the surface of the moon. Trees that swayed with the scorching wind burned with a raging flame that seems to roar in anger.

A thick gray smog covered the sky, blocking all blue from view.

In the middle of all of this destruction a teenage boy sat. He lay on the only patch of green in view on this vast plain of ash and fire.

The boy had no memory of how the world came to this state. The last memory of his was that of a girl's face frozen in a state of absolute horror.

So, with this girl in mind, the boy began an adventure that would define the course of history. For the better or for the worse was yet to be seen.

* * *

"Thank you for your patronage." Said a muscular, older shopkeeper. He had a smile on his face that made it seem as though he was laughing at his own joke.

"You don't have to say that every time I buy something Touji." Said a teenage looking boy with an exasperated look on his face.

The boy had dark brown hair with a white streak running through the front. His eyes were the cause of a fair bit of attention as his left was a bright blue and his right was a fiery gold. He didn't always have this unique appearance, but it was something he had come to accept and treasure to an extent.

The man simply smiled that annoying smile while saying, "I'll keep saying it until you get something different for once. You can't live on boxed bentos alone you know."

The boy sighed, "So you keep trying to tell me."

"Because it's true. I wouldn't say it if it was a lie" Touji stated with a sense of confidence that can only come from an idiot with too much self-esteem.

"Why don't I believe that at all." The boy said with a small smile.

"I don't know. After all, I'm as trustworthy as they come!" The older man said boisterously.

The boy chuckled, "Guess that answers my question huh."

"What does that mean!" Touji yelled in faux indignation.

Now the boy was smiling, "Figure it out yourself. You're smart, probably."

"You can leave now." The man coldly said. Although it didn't match the childish pout on his face as he crossed his arms.

"Haha, see you later Touji." The boy said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Einar." The man said while giving the boy, Einar, a firm handshake.

Einar left the small supermarket after his conversation with the manager. He looked up at the towering glass buildings, saw the people in the streets hurrying about their daily activities, and the cars that flew down the roads with hardly a sound other than the rushing wind.

_I guess some things don't change no matter what time it is, _Einar thought with a bittersweet feeling in his chest. _Well, no use dwelling on the past_, and with that thought he carried on down the sidewalk towards his abode.

"Home sweet home!" Stated Einar with gusto when he walked through his front door into his humble apartment.

He went towards his kitchen to grab some utensils and begin his meal.

"Ah, this is the best." Sighed the boy with content. "I liked the freedom of the older days more, but nothing can beat this food!" Stated Einar, with a comparison that would have seemed odd to anyone that heard it.

After his modest dinner and indulgence in his pastimes he went to bed for the night. His dreams were the same as every other night. Bittersweet.

* * *

Einar awoke to screams.

He promptly put on his shoes, grabbed his hoodie, and formed a sword from thin air. It was a fairly average size, single edged, straight sword. The blade connected to the handle by way of a "V" shaped profusion that looked as though someone had taken the sharp side of a square of smashed it into the blade and wrapped the bottom half to make it a handle.

At some point during his life he discovered his ability to make certain objects under criteria he wasn't quite so clear on other than he had to know quite a bit of information about them. He wasn't able to create very complex electronics such as computers or even toasters but simply objects such as swords and toothbrushes. The latter was more important than he had thought at first.

With the familiar heat in his chest, Einar rushed towards the street expecting danger just not a woman that shot lightning from her palms.

"Well that's something you don't see every day huh?" Einar quipped when he witnessed the sight.

The boy then took off towards the target running faster than should be capable from a human being, his right eye burning with a gold that seemed to roar in intimidation.

Buildings were being shot with bolts of purple raining from the heavens.

"The weather channel didn't say anything about this at all!" Einar shouted during the chaos.

While he was preoccupied with trying to find a path towards this woman, vehicles armed to the teeth started arriving. They ranged from helicopters, to small mechs, and even to some kind of B*tmbile looking car/tank thing.

Einar looked at them in fascination thinking to himself, _they were prepared for an event like this to occur. _Soldiers started pouring out of helicopters in small squads armed with strange riles that looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, even in this technologically advanced era.

Decided that he had seen enough he emerged from his cover behind some fallen debris and started sprinting towards the woman blasting lightning at everything she could.

One of the soldiers saw this and tried to flag him down, "Hey kid! You'll die if you go near her!"

Ignoring the soldier Einar leapt towards his target as she sent a bolt of electricity directly at him. He couldn't dodge as he was only a few meters away. So, he did the next best thing.

He swung his sword at the bolt.

And he caught it.

His sword pulsed with the azure gleam of electricity, Einar's smirk illuminated ominously.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to blast people with lightning just after you meet them?" Einar mocked as he swung his blade at his opponent.

Unfortunately, the woman regained her bearings and flew backwards, avoiding the blow.

And putting her in the range of the soldiers' artillery.

A bombard of shells rained on the woman that controlled lightning, forcing her to hastily craft a shield of electricity to block the brunt of the attack.

The soldiers stopped after a few minutes to check the condition of their opponent. Short answer, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Long answer, she survived but not unscathed and she wasn't looking down on her enemies any longer.

The woman stood, her long blonde hair billowing in the breeze as lightning coursed through it.

And then she was gone.

And so was most of the artillery.

The woman darted around of a bolt of purple death. Slaughtering those that she came into contact with before being halted by a certain boy.

Einar slammed his blade into her form, halting her assault but not harming her for the most part.

The woman grunted out of utter rage and frustration, "You cannot stop an apostle of God from her goal!"

The boy looked tired as he said, "Maybe not, but I won't stop trying. I have something I need to do and you're in my way missy." He then pressed his sword forward, igniting the blade as it gained a strength that felt familiar to the woman. The heat in Einar's chest returned full force.

The woman jumped back shocked and confused. "You shouldn't have that power. It isn't yours!" She roared.

Charging forward she was met with an icicle to the abdomen. Quickly changing paths to veer right she ran into a sword bathed in a fire that was in no way natural. It glowed in a fearsome orange that seemed to desire the destruction of everything in its wake, and maybe more.

The woman could not escape the attack quick enough and suffered a large wound that spanned from her right flank to her left shoulder.

She growled, "What are you! How can you command those powers!"

Einar shrugged, "I want to know that myself. What you need to know is that I have them, and that I'm not alone."

The woman expressed confusion before the boy disappeared from her view in a flash of black and orange. Almost immediately afterwards a barrage of explosives once again fell from the heavens on her now weak and wounded form.

She no longer had the power to resist such an attack due to the wound inflicted onto her by the boy. She succumbed to the explosives while screaming at the boy that had caused the failure of her mission.

* * *

A short distance, on the rooftop of a relatively small building a young boy stumbled through an orange rimmed black portal. His face was pale and sweat covered his form as he gasped for breath.

"That almost went horrible wrong." Chuckled Einar with as much energy as he could muster.

"But it didn't, did it mysterious helper?" Said an unknown voice.

Einar barely moved to look towards a well-dressed man, "How about you repay me with a warm bed and a boxed bento, and we'll call it even, 'k?"

The unknown man chuckled, "If your services are that cheap then we have a deal. We will provide you with lodging and whatever else you desire while you help us with future beings such as the one today. Future Herrschers."

His face sobering, Einar sat upright, "So that's what you call them huh? Ok then, I'll help you as long as you don't get in the way of my goal." His face was deathly serious as he expressed his intentions.

"What would those goals be, if I may be so bold?" The man question with a curious expression.

Einar tightened his expression, "I want to find someone."

The man seemed intrigued as he asked, "Why would we betray that goal?"

Einar then replied with a tone mixed with grief and hope, "Because I think she might be a Herrscher."

* * *

"This is surprisingly quiet." Marveled Einar as he listened to the extraordinarily quiet sounds of the helicopter's rotors and engine.

A girl with large rimmed glasses and long black hair responded with a dull tone, "I would hope that something as tedious as that would be accomplishable by the Moth Who Chases the Flames."

Einar looked over at her and the white haired boy next to her and asked, "So, what brings you two here on this secret organization's plane after the destruction of a large metropolitan city by a lighting wielding maniac?"

"Curiosity." Replied the girl.

"Her." Answered the boy bringing a slight blush to the girl's cheeks.

Einar nodded as though he came to a grand revelation and stated, "So you two are here for your honeymoon!" He brought his fist to his palm while smiling, "Congratulations you lucky couple, may you live a long and happy life together!"

The girl proceeded to sputter denials with flaming cheeks while the boy tried to imitate the spectrum of the color red.

"I-it's not like that at all! I simply came here as a scientist to further progress humanities fight against the Honkai!" The girl tried to clarify.

"And I just came with her as a soldier." Said the boy while looking none too displeased by the accusations.

Einar laughed while saying, "Two things can be true at once friends!" The two looked as though they were about to object but Einar proceeded by asking them a more legitimate question.

"Do you two have names or should I just call you Mr. and Mrs. Tsundere." Einar questioned in-between chuckles.

The boy with the white hair answered for them as he had now regained his composure and the girl looked more ready to kill Einar than she did to talk to him.

"I'm Kevin Kaslana and this is Mei Raiden." Kevin declared with a mostly level voice.

"Ah, so you're engaged then." Einar proclaimed as he nodded in faux understanding.

The two finally seemed to realize that nothing they said would dissuade him from his delusions, so they decided to change the conversation.

"We've given our names so how about yours?" Asked Mei in a more professional tone than before.

"Einar, at your service madam." He said while giving her a little bow.

Kevin seemed somewhat confused as he asked, "No family name?"

Einar seemed to wilt a little as he answered, "Not for a long time, no."

Sensing that was a sensitive subject Kevin asked something else, "What brings you here to Fire Moth? You don't seem to be the researcher type, nor do you seem to be one for rigorous combat."

"First of all, ouch my pride. Second of all, I joined as a fighter believe it or not, I'm looking for someone and this is the best place to begin that search." Stated the boy with a tone of melancholy and wistfulness.

Kevin looked intrigued but didn't seem to want to pry, "Well I joined as a soldier and Mei here was scouted by Fire Moth to become a researcher. She is quite the genius after all." Kevin spoke with such pride that it was almost as though he was the owner of the world's most talented peacock.

Unfortunately for him, Mei seemed disinterested as she clarified, "My father was a quantum scientist and I've always held a fascination for the subject along with the other sciences. The Moth Who Chases the Flames was intrigued with my talents and offered their technology in exchange for my assistance with Honkai related matters. As the topic was of great interest to me I accepted."

Einar seemed shocked, "Someone that likes school!" Not for any valid reason though.

Mei simply gave him a blank stare, "Of course, it was interesting after all. Well until I sought to learn things that were not taught at my grade's level, then it became quite boring."

Shaking his head, Einar stated, "You are quite possibly the only one through history that has ever said that and trust me I would know."

As Mei was about to ask what he meant by that the door to the helicopter had opened. They had arrived.

A man dressed in a dark grey suit had come to meet them at the entrance, "Welcome, to your new home!"

The three companions glanced at each other, knowing that this moment marked the beginning of something that would define their lives from that point onwards.

It was up to them whether it would have a desirable outcome or not.

**Author's notes: I first want to preface this by saying that none of the other author's notes will be this long if there even is one every chapter. This is my first fanfic but feel free to bring on the flames! I can take it!**

**Minor spoilers for this next part:**

**There will be no yuri pairings. I'm aware that this is not going to be a very popular choice but that would go against my personal beliefs so I'm not going to write those pairings. Romance is not something I'm going to focus on as much as the relationships between the characters. Fight scenes are not something I'm very confident one so there won't be a lot of fighting. At the very least there will not be nearly as much time spent on the fight scenes as there will be on moving the plot and giving motives for the actions of characters.**

**Something else that you might have noticed is that I haven't explored Einar's history as much as you might have expected. This is intentional, I'm trying to slowly reveal his backstory in little increments and small details instead of all at once. I'm planning on having his motives be revealed not through flashbacks but through his telling of the story to another character. What I want is to have the information solely from his perspective and to have the character he is telling the story to be able to interact with him as he's telling it. I'm getting ahead of myself though because that won't be popping up for a little while.**

**Well, thanks for giving this story the time of day and I hope the rest of your day is better than reading this mess.**

**Sayonara,**

**the Slow White Guy**


	2. A Brief Reprieve

A Brief Reprieve

Three months later:

Einar is seen prostrating before a furious looking woman with bright red hair and eyes.

"So, what have you learned?" Asked the woman in a deathly cold voice.

Einar almost whimpered when as he responded, "Not start a food fight with a bunch of trained soldiers?"

The woman sighed, "Yes, but why?"

"Because the food can cause the oven to explode if it stays in there for too long?" Supplied Einar hopping to be let off without any debilitating injuries.

"YES!" The woman screamed as though he has said, winter was cold. Her face was both incredulous and furious as she keep talking, "This is what happens when you dump a bowl of ramen on a highly trained officer!"

Einar gave a nervous look as he said, "Come on Himeko, lighten up a bit. Where's your sense of humor, I was only trying to lighten the heavy mood you guys have." The boy looked as though he was giving an excuse to his mother for not cleaning his room. It wasn't going well for him.

Himeko lost her cool at his remark, "You can lighten the mood without destroying the kitchen! At the very least your poor sense of humor would only serve to annoy the troops and not prevent us from eating canned soup for the next week!" The angry woman seemed to grow more and more intimidating as she spoke, making Einar feel rather small in comparison.

_I'd take a Herrscher over an angry Himeko any day of the week, _thought the boy as he tried to think of a way to escape his impending doom.

Luckily his savior came in his hour of need.

Einar saw Kevin walking into the room with a look of resignation and sadness as he saw the state of the mess hall. Noodles were hanging from the lights on the roof and various liquids pooled in the floor. The walls seemed to be painted red from pizza sauce and several sausages were seen in a few drinks.

"Perfect timing Kevin! I need you to save me from this demon!" Einar shouted as he rushed behind Kevin, pointing towards Himeko.

Himeko glowered at Einar, "Not even God can save you now."

The target of her wrath let out a small noise of terror and tried to put Kevin between himself and the demon.

Himeko kept trying to grab at him by moving to intercept the boy but was narrowly evaded.

Finally exasperated with the situation Kevin sighed, "Can you stop playing ring around the rosy with me and let me eat something?" This statement halted the two soldiers.

"Don't abandon me Kevin!" Proclaimed Einar in a despair filled voice.

Meanwhile Himeko's face broke into a maniacal grin, "Sure, take as much time as you want." To Einar she seemed entirely too pleased with the situation and he feared for his life now more than ever before.

Kevin merely watched as Himeko grabbed the boy by the foot and dragged him through the door of the mess hall to places unknown.

Not for the first time, Kevin wondered why Fire Moth sought the aid of someone with such an eccentric personality.

_It's never boring around here though, that's for certain, _the teen mussed to himself.

To tell the truth Kevin would be far more judgmental of the boy had he not demonstrated a superb skill in swordsmanship. He also held a resourcefulness in combat training that could only come from experience, according to one of the older instructors.

_I can't explain it but something about him seems off, fake even, _thought Kevin. He had always been a fairly good judge of character, mainly as a result of having a few extreme fans back in Europe. It was the reason he fell for Mei after all despite everyone else mistaking her dedication for coldness.

Einar was someone that most would call outgoing. He would invade everyone's personal space and was quite the influential person in a room. Despite that, Kevin noticed that no one could claim to really no him. He seemed to keep everyone at arm's length, not telling anyone about his interests or history.

_It's not as though he had some sort of villainous intent but more as though he has experienced an event he wants to keep secret, _thought Kevin. It was that fact that kept the young adult from dismissing the boy as a simple fool.

Kevin's reflections were halted by the growling of his stomach.

"Guess I need some food then." Kevin decided, trying to find something to eat in the now dilapidated mess hall.

* * *

Meanwhile, Einar had just escaped the clutches of the red-haired demon.

He groaned, "I'm getting caught ever again." Showing that he didn't learn a single lesson from this experience.

Continuing to walk down the grey corridors, Einar ran into another familiar face.

"Hey Hua, what poppin'?" Question Einar in a strange tone.

The woman in question sighed in exasperation, "What did you do this time Einar?" Her dark grey eyes filled with pity.

"Why do you assume I was at fault!?" Einar asked, his face held an expression of disbelief.

Hua answered, "Because you only use that voice when you're trying to bring attention away from something." Her dark blue-grey hair framing her face that seemed to say, "Well what else would it mean?"

"Well it could mean that I'm trying to highlight your beauty by acting like an idiot." Said the boy with a dramatic voice and an exaggerated bow.

"You don't have to pretend to be an idiot." Said Hua with a practiced experience in crushing the boy's pride.

"Geh! You wound me madame!" Einar proclaimed, bringing his hand to his forehead as he fell to the floor.

"If you don't have anything important to say, then I'll be leaving." The girl mentioned while turning to walk away.

Dropping his act to ask his question, he asked, "Wait, wait, wait! I wanted to ask if you wanted to spar!"

Hua's face held confusion as she wondered, "Can't you ask Kevin? He usual humors you."

Einar nervously chuckled as he answered, "Well considering what happened in the mess hall, he might just ignore me and Himeko would try and kill me."

A sigh escaped Hua's lips as she said, "Fine. But I'm not helping you if the captain comes for your head."

Einar was far more joyful as he gave his response, "Nah, I'm helping her favorite subordinate, she would try and kill me until after we finished." His confidence came from experience after all.

"Very well, but that's only if I don't get to you first" Hua claimed with a small smile.

"Ho, I accept your challenge!" Einar proclaimed as he dropped his eccentric expression.

* * *

In an empty room with a nothing but a few windows and the door to the hallway. The clashing of metal could be heard as two figures fought.

A girl armed with a simple dull metal blade brought it against the blade of a boy across from her. Occasionally she would string a few strikes with her hands and feet alongside her sword swings.

The boy fought with a flurry of parries and strikes that looked as though he was connected every motion to another attack or parry. His face held a grin as he fought the girl, making him look more like a villain in a fairy tale than a defender of humanity.

Eventually the girl brought her sword to strike the boy but lost her footing on the slick floor, allowing the boy to bring his weapon to the girl's neck.

"Guess I win." Einar claimed with a grin.

Hua groaned, "Don't let it go to your head, I've only been using something like this for a few months." She said trying to defend her pride.

"True, you are a very quick learner that for certain, but the Honkai won't give you the time to learn at your leisure." The boy said in a high pitched voice.

The girl scowled, "Don't mock Captain Himeko." She was very important to the girl after all, being the reason Hua was alive and apart of Fire Moth.

Einar seemed to catch on to this, "Yeah, sorry about that, but you know me and Himeko don't exactly have the calmest of relationships." He chuckled at a memory of one such chaotic conversation.

Hua sighed in resignation, "It's alright, I shouldn't expect too much from you after all."

"Oi!" Einar shouted in protest.

As the boy was opening his mouth to retort, a level voice called to him from the doorway.

"Einar, I require your assistance on a project." Ordered a woman with long black hair in a white lab coat.

Hua gave a slight bow in respect, "Professor Mei."

Einar on the other hand, waved at her like an old friend, "Hey Doc, what do ya need from little old me?"

Mei simply glanced at him as she said, "I require your assistance on a report that came up."

The boy stiffened, "Herrscher?"

The scientist shook her head, "No, a powerful Honkai beast for sure, but not nearly powerful enough to be considered a Herrscher."

The boy held a conflicted expression on his face, a mixture of relief and disappointment, "Then why on earth do you need my help?"

"Because those in command believe it to be the perfect opportunity to document your abilities." Mei stated.

Einar gave her an understanding look, "Yeah, that makes sense. And I'm assuming you're going to be watching on the security feed."

"That I am." Confirmed Mei with a nod.

"Well then what are we waiting for, onwards!" Shouted Einar with gusto.

* * *

"You sure you'll be okay, kid!" Yelled a pilot of a helicopter to a young man.

Einar looked back at him and gave a thumbs up, "I'll be fine, I've always wanted to do something like this!" He said shouting over his communications unit.

The pilot seemed skeptical but nodded in acceptance, "Don't try an imitate a pancake though! That wouldn't be very fun to explain to the top brass!"

Einar laughed before proceeding to open the door in the side of the vehicle.

"Here goes nothing, I suppose." And he jumped out.

All he could hear was the sound of rushing wind as he fell from the sky.

"WOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOO!" Shouted Einar at the top of his lungs. "I could get used to this!"

All of a sudden though a voice echoed in his ear and a target reticle appeared on his visor. "Your target is the Emperor-class Honkai beast, Parvati. Your goal is to kill it to allow the research team the time to collect samples of its flesh." Ordered Mei in a professional tone.

"Roger that Doc!" Yelled Einar in affirmation.

As he descended, the boy remembered something that was uttered by a girl, who had long since disappeared.

"Whatever you do, don't change. I like the you of right now."

Einar chuckled to himself, "Of course, Kaguya." And with that he vanished.

* * *

Appearing on a rooftop underneath where he jumped from the helicopter, Einar found the Honkai beast. The creature was the size of a battleship and made just as much noise, so it wasn't difficult to find its location. The problem would be killing it.

The beast was unique compared to other Honkai as it was predominately black with blue energy flowing across its body. Most Honkai were pure white with purple energy so it was unique to see such a drastic comparison at least.

The creature looked like a smushed boar to be blunt. It stood on all fours and had white horns and tusks that looked larger than its own head. The very air around it seemed to freeze as it marched through the city streets.

Summoning the sword, he used to fight the 3rd Herrscher, Einar leapt towards the beast. His blade was wrapped a blanket of royal blue lightning, as he swung it at the beast.

Parvati roared, not in pain, but in fury.

"Guess it won't be that easy huh?" The boy mussed to himself. "Then let's crank the dial to eleven shall we?"

As soon as he said that the ground beneath his feat took on an almost digital like coloring. It was mostly black with every crease having a blue border to it. It didn't cover a large area, only a few meters, but it looked as though his power was encroaching upon reality itself.

Einar gave a smile to the beast as it charged towards him and jumped. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the ground he was standing on pushed him towards the heavens.

Once he was in the air a small blue platform formed underneath his feat. Turning around, the boy created a small railgun by his side, suspended in midair, and fired it. A white hot bolt of molten metal and electricity raced towards the beast faster than one could blink.

The projectile connected with the beast as its roar of pain shook the streets of the city.

Not relenting with his attack Einar rushed towards his target, his blade wreathed in a crest of flames, and he struck Parvati.

The force managed to shatter the surrounding windows and cracked the concrete underneath the two. It also sliced the Honkai beast's stomach open, much like a piñata.

Einar however did not escape unscathed, his arms had suffered multiple fractures and were bleeding profusely. He had the fortune of not being affected by his own flames but could not withstand the physical force created by the contained explosion.

The boy's face was pale, and he was bleeding from locations that shattered rubble had injured, but he was smiling like he had won the lottery.

It was the first time he had fought something of such power alone.

A voice in his ear brought him back to reality, "Well done, the researchers are coming to collect the samples as well as a team of escorts. Come back to base and rest, then we'll talk about today's events in full."

"A nap sounds really nice about now, so I think I'll take you up on that offer Doc" Einar muttered appreciatively.

Maybe after a bento though.

* * *

In a white void with nothing but a stone throne, a Girl sat. She was a beautiful girl who only looked to be in her late teens. She had a fair complexion, snow white hair, and deep golden eyes.

**"Why do humans seek to prolong their existence with such fervor, I wonder?"** The Girl stated to herself. **"Why does their nature force them into conflict with each other over the most trivial of differences."**

The Girl gazed into the endless void, **"He said that humans' suffering allows them to take refuge in the joy they obtain, but why then do they cause such grief unto each other."**

The Girl shifted her gaze to something else, **"Perhaps he will tell me what he meant back then."**

The Girl placed her hand beneath her chin, **"I suppose I will pay him a visit if the humans survive their coming trials."**

**"Wait just a bit longer, I won't let them hurt you anymore."**

**Author's notes: Well this didn't take long huh. This chapter wasn't very productive in terms of plot as since I'm trying to establish the characters a bit before the meatier chapters. So, the next chapter begins the fight between the Moth Who Chases the Flames and the Honkai. Some of you might be confused by the fact that many of the characters that have appeared are from the game and given the fact that this story is currently set 55,000 years before the events of Honkai Impact 3****rd****. This is intentional and the people who have read the manga already known how this is going to end to a degree. I chose this period of time for my story since I can insert Einar relatively easily while also making an interesting world. This story is about Einar and "Kaguya", and so I'm trying to make that the main focal point. This story will follow cannon rather closely until the time of the game with the relationships being the only different feature. I do plan to go up to the events of the game and even past it in its current state.**

**Anyway, enough ranting from me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time!**

**Sayonara,**

**the Slow White Guy**


	3. The Brewing Storm

The Brewing Storm

Several people in white lab coats could be seen behind a large window from Einar's location in a blank grey room. They all had contemplative expressions on their face as they observed the boy's actions.

"Hey, are you guys gonna be done soon, I got places to be." Said Einar with a bored expression plastered on his face.

Mei was seen in the center of the group of researchers sighing out a response, "If it involves the vandalization of any Fire Moth properties then I'm going to have to refuse that request." It took three days to finish cleaning the mess hall after Einar's last "prank".

The boy cringed, "That was not entirely my fault" He claimed, trying to divert the blame from himself.

Knowing she was not going to convince the metaphorical brick wall she changed the topic, "If you're done with your comedy routine we have far more pressing matter to attend to" She pulled up a detailed bio of Einar on the screen in front of her.

"Now use the powers of the 3rd Herrescher." Mei commanded with a firm voice.

Einar seemed exasperated as he answered, "They're not the 3rd Herrscher's powers, I had them far before she appeared." He had remained stalwart in informing her that the powers were in no way the possessions of the other Herrschers.

Mei responded in a level tone, "They bear the exact properties as the powers of the other Herrschers and are similarly made from Honkai energy. I don't particularly care about your reservations regarding the name." She rejected him with cold logic while typing something on a tablet she held in her hands.

Despite his qualms with the Mei's naming he complied with her order and generated a stream of electricity between his hands. The researchers immediately started jotting down some notes while observing the changes on the large bio in front of them that monitored Einar's condition.

A few moments later the stream halted as Einar had fallen to a knee clutching his heart.

Mei spoke through an intercom, "The longest continuous usage of your powers still remains your fight with Parvati, clocking in at five minutes and thirty-six seconds." She spoke in a curious tone that denoted her lack of knowledge of the cause of this predicament.

Einar returned to his feet as she was talking, "If you can help me use my powers for a longer period of time then I'll help in any way I can." The boy stated his intentions as he recovered, far faster than a normal human would have if placed in the same situation.

Pleased with the declaration Mei once again used the intercom, "Alright then, now use all of your different abilities at once for as long as possible." She crossed her arms as she turned her gaze towards the testing room.

Vocally protesting his displeasure, Einar proclaimed, "You're a slave driver, you know that!" While preparing to follow the command.

Mei smiled a bit ominously, "No, it will only feel like I am."

"That's not as smart a retort as you think it is!" The boy fired back.

* * *

After leaving an exhausting analysis of his Honkai control, Einar was seen struggling down the hallway in the direction of the barracks.

On the way he saw an old friend.

"Kevin!" Einar shouted in joy as he jumped at the white haired man. His intent was to crash into him, but Kevin swiftly moved in the opposite direction. This caused the flying boy to crash rather unceremoniously into the floor.

Staring at the groaning boy, Kevin questioned him, "What was the point of that."

"It was supposed to be the bonding of two great friends." Claimed Einar with a tearful expression.

Kevin simply gave a deadpan look at the boy, "What two friends?"

"Did I miss the 'everybody beat up Einar day' notice or something! If I knew today was going to be filled with such despair I would have stayed in bed." The boy in question retorted with a sob.

Changing topics to something far more productive, Kevin questioned Einar, "How did today's tests go, learn anything new." The man helped Einar up from his position on the floor.

"Not really, Mei confirmed that whatever I have isn't a Herrscher core since it doesn't transform my body to gain many of the characteristics of a Herrscher. Such as a high adaptability to Honkai energy, in fact I have nearly a record low in terms of my adaptability." The boy explained, as he informed Kevin of the discovered oddities.

Proceeding with his explanation, Einar continued, "That's when Mei noticed something that seems to contraindicate all previous knowledge of Honkai."

Gaining a curious look, Kevin waited for him to continue.

"You are aware that when someone with low adaptability to Honkai energy is exposed to a large amount of it turns into a zombie correct?" Einar first prefaced his explanation with a question.

Kevin nodded, "Yeah, we have to kill them since there isn't any known way to revert the process." It was a cruel truth, no matter how important the person is they have to die to protect humanity. Kevin had seen firsthand, several of his classmates turn before being mowed down by the Moth Who Chases the Flames.

Not stopping for sentiments, the boy carried on, "Well despite my exceedingly low adaptability, when I expose myself to an obscene amount of Honkai, I don't turn. Instead I simply start to fade into Honkai energy, which is the reaction of someone with a high adaptability."

Anticipating where this train of though was headed, Kevin cut him off, "So Mei wants to find out why and if it can be used on other people."

"Precisely." Affirmed Einar.

"On a related note, are you still in the dark about the origin of your powers?" Kevin asked in a cautious tone, as the two rounded the corner to the training room.

Instantly, Einar's face became guarded as he responded, "I have an idea, but the how or why is anyone's guess." His answer was curt and left no room for further discussion. He grabbed two training swords and tossed one to Kevin, "Enough small talk, see how long it takes for me to beat you this time, shall we?"

Going along with the change in topic, Kevin agreed and the two began their dual.

* * *

In a room nearby a red haired woman walked in. Computers filled the room with a bright blue light as information floated on the screens at a blistering pace.

Himeko walked up to one of the people in the room, "I feel horribly out of place in a room like this, did you find out what I asked for?"

The woman she was talking to turned to face the other woman, her lab coat floating in the breeze she created, "To a degree." Her response was short and to the point as she handed a small stack of papers to the captain.

She took them with a look of mirth plastered on her face, "Who uses paper any more in this day and age?" Mei didn't respond as the red haired woman flipped through the stack of paper, her face growing more and more confused as time went on.

"What is this!" She growled out, her voice rising in volume, "I don't want conspiracy theories of what could and might be!"

Taking the allegations in stride the scientist responded in an even tone, "That is the list of all known and possible information about the Fire Moth special soldier Einar." Her face expressed her annoyance at having the report so quickly dismissed, though it was understandable given the information contained within.

"And you're trying to tell me that he's some kind of human shaped Honkai beast or some such nonsense! He's killed a few dozen Honkai and almost offed a Herrscher as well!" Himeko shouted in rage at the accusation being lobbed towards the boy.

Mei clarified, "I'm not saying that's a fact, but he has been recorded to be in cities and places that have existed over two hundred years ago. We have already determined that he isn't a Herrscher, so this is a likely possibility." The physicist attempted to rationalize her position on the matter.

"Human kill each other with relative frequency, so does a majority of other creatures on earth. Why then would Honkai beasts be any different." She continued with her explanation to Himeko's growing ire.

"I'm not saying that Honkai beasts are any different, what I'm saying is that what is the proof that Einar wants to destroy humanity!" The captain's rage boiled over as she defended her comrade.

Mei seemed to come to a realization as she answered, "I'm not trying to guess at his motives rather than explain how he could have lived for such a period of time."

Himeko deflated at that response. Her relationship with Einar was rather unique, she would compare it to that of a nephew of sorts. They didn't interact enough to be very influential on the other's lives, and yet they were still important to the other.

"I refuse to believe that Einar is a Honkai." Was her simple answer.

Mei held a curious look, "May I ask why that is?"

Himeko closed her eyes in remembrance as she informed her, "Someone who can make a face like that can't be anything but human."

* * *

_Three days after Einar's recruitment:_

"Why does paperwork exist?" Bemoaned a woman with her head on her desk.

The woman was Himeko Murata, a red haired twenty-six year old captain at the organization, the Moth Who Chases the Flames. Currently she was writing far too many reports on the events of the fight with the 3rd Herrscher.

"What do I even write? A random kid came out of nowhere and stabbed a Herrscher, I would be put in a mental asylum!" Himeko lamented the situation she had been thrust into.

All of sudden she heard a knock on her door, to which she responded by jumping from her desk in absolute joy. She opened the door ready to shower her savior with praise.

A man in a suit was on the other side with amusement on his face, "Hello captain Murata, how are you this fine morning?"

Immediately stiffening she answered with a formal tone, "Yashuhiro Sir, what bring you here?"

The founder of Fire Moth, Yasuhiro. His whimsical personality combined with his eternally present smile. There were various rumors about the man ranging from a wealthy businessman to a jester in Africa. Regardless of the validity of any of those claims, no one could argue that he didn't know what he was doing.

Yasuhiro responded to her inquiry in a jovial voice, "Why I came to inform you of a new addition to your squad, a recent recruit by the name of Einar." His eyes sparkled in mirth, as though laughing at a joke only he knew.

"Where is he then?" Himeko wondered as she didn't see the boy after she glanced around the room.

"He is currently in the hanger if I remember correctly. I believe he found it to be calmer 'when he could see the blue of the sky' to put it in his own words." The man chuckled, finding the boy's answer to be rather uncharacteristic.

Himeko lifted her brows in confusion, "He sounds like a poet." From the man's wording this, 'Einar' wasn't that old and yet he spoke like a grandfather. She continued before the founder could speak, "I'll go pick him up and introduce him to the rest of the platoon. Is that all right with you, sir?"

"I would wish for nothing more!" The man spoke with his usual grandeur, throwing his hands together with a sharp noise. With that the man left Himeko to proceed with the dodging of her paperwork duties.

Once she found herself at the hanger in which Einar was currently located, she had to scan the crowd for anyone that did not have the uniform that designated the engineers.

_Least he could have done was give me a picture of the kid, _she thought to herself as she scanned the crowd.

Finally, her eyes came to rest on a lone boy in the corner. He seemed to be close to falling asleep propped up near the edge of one of the hanger bay doors. He didn't seem to be particularly tall and the only unique trait about him was the streak of white in his hair.

Moving closer to him, Himeko was taken aback by the look on his face. It was one of a resigned sense of loneliness that someone that young shouldn't have. It reminded her of the look on her father's face whenever she visited him after her mother's death several years ago, as though he didn't see a point in human connection.

However, as soon Einar saw the captain, his face broke into what might have seemed like a blinding grin to most. After the sight just moments ago it seemed hollow and empty, devoid of life.

As Himeko made her way to the boy she made a resolution to herself, she would bring life to the smile of this boy. Life that she wasn't able to bring to her father.

And so, the meeting of the captain and the warrior passed without incident, unaware of what the future held.

* * *

Nearly a continent away a girl with black hair and green highlights was seen in the midst of a beautiful valley. Dilapidated buildings and bloodied corpses surrounded her as she made her way eastward.

The girl was innocent, she simply followed the instructions of the voice in her head. And so, she did. Changing the winds into a raging storm, she tore the city apart and made her way to see the one the voice adored.

_**He is the only one who can understand you, **_it claimed. Delighted by the prospect the girl made her way to his location. After all, why would the voice lie to her?

The wind gathered at her feet, propelling her upwards into the clear blue sky. With the verdant winds at her back the girl hummed a hopeful tune, obeying the voice's every command.

**Author's notes: Well this chapter hated me. I think I rewrite the entire thing about three times before I liked it. I had several scenes that I felt wouldn't have contributed to the theme of the chapter in any meaningful way and just decided to scrap them. It also wasn't as long as I originally wanted it to be but I thought this was the best place to end it.**

**Of course, I'm also trying to improve my writing ability by going more in depth into the characters thoughts and the environments that they are in. I hope I accomplished that but feel free to tell me otherwise and how you think I can improve.**

**I believe I mentioned this in the first chapter's author's notes, but this is going to be the story of Einar and the main heroine, "Kaguya". That does not mean I will not expand on any other characters, but it does mean that the sole attention will on Einar and how the interactions with other characters affect him.**

**Anyway, enough of my ranting, thank you as always for reading this mess of a story and I hope I continue to fulfill your expectations.**

**Sayonara,**

**the Slow White Guy**


	4. The Eye of the Storm

The Eye of the Storm

A quiet rattle of metal could be heard inside of a dark grey transport vehicle.

The occupants consisted of several occupants that included Himeko, Hua, and Einar in addition to seven other soldiers within the vehicle. They all held a somber expression as they made their way to their destination.

The 4th Herrscher had made her appearance. And with her emergence she had decimated everything in her wake from Western Europe to Eastern Asia.

Yasuhiro had ordered the immediate deployment of all forces baring those that were protecting their various bases. This led to Himeko's platoon being directed to the front lines in the fight against the Herrscher.

Kevin was in a different squad that held a more dangerous role as a diversion should the situation arise.

Himeko began speaking about the known information on their adversary, "The 4th Herrscher can manipulate wind itself into any shape within seconds. This can include both blades, projectiles, and even armor. You have been equipped with a unique rifle that can generate enough force to destroy her objects her a moment. But be very careful since the recoil could blow your arm off if it is used too much or your suit is damaged."

_Nothing says a fun time like losing your limbs, _Einar thought, none too thrilled. The equipment that he and his companion were supplied with was laced with a Honkai resistant material called Solium. While it would prevent any crippling damage from Honkai related sources the physical forces created by those powers was another story.

Not that he had much room to talk since he could use his powers to cancel out the brunt of the Honkai beings attacks, no one else is so fortunate.

Himeko continued, unaware of her subordinates musings, "We will drop in about two kilometers out. Once you land keep moving towards the target since she is able to slice through any buildings in the area. Use the debris to block line of sight rather than as a shield."

Rather than nervous, the occupants of the aircraft possessed more of a hardened resolve on their faces.

The large door in the side opened up to reveal the fading light of the sun.

Einar looked to Fu Hua with a smile, "Ready or not, here we go."

And with that, the members of Himeko's platoon leapt into the clashing fray of combat.

* * *

"This is why I hate boss fights that have an absurd number of minions!" A familiar boy yelled a strange comparison.

Currently the forces of the Moth Who Chases the Flames were fighting a horde of Honkai beasts while the Herrscher couldn't be seen.

_Well this is a problem, we can't fight something we can't even see, _was the thoughts of Einar as he sliced through another creature. Before he could do anything else, static buzzed in his ear followed by a certain scientist's voice.

"The 4th Herrscher is located on top of the tallest northwest building."

Einar grinned, "Now the real fun begins." He bolted towards the designated location of the girl in flash of blue and orange.

Kevin observed this action form a nearby vantage point. Coming to a decision he informed his captain of his future actions, "I'm going to support Einar against the Herrscher."

Without waiting for a response, he left towards the tower with his weapons in tow. He had a nagging feeling that his fellow soldier would require his help against the Honkai corrupted girl.

Only time would tell.

* * *

On the rooftop of a towering glass building stood a young boy armed with a sword and clad in metal armor.

On the other side levitated a green girl with verdant wings as the wind whipped around her in a fury.

The girl had a radiant smile on her face that clashed with the chaos of the battle that waged below them.

"I finally get to meet you!" She joyously exclaimed as she landed and walked towards Einar. The boy remained perfectly still even when the girl laid a hand on his face as though he were a precious possession.

"How do you know about me?" Einar asked the most pressing question. Fire Moth had kept his identity under wraps as they didn't want anyone finding out how to potentially counter his powers.

However, the boy was very much aware of someone who would know of him and what he could do. This meant the question was more directed at finding the whereabouts of that person.

The girl's smiled broadened even more as she answered, "**She **told me of course!"

Disappointment was strewn across Einar's face as he realized that she wouldn't give him any more than that.

The emerald clad girl took a few steps back as she continued, "I'll take care of the vermin before we leave." She spoke with such a casual voice and cheerful expression that it wouldn't be difficult to dismiss what she said.

Einar immediately took the now blushing girl by the hand as he prevented her from leaving, "I can't let you do that."

The Herrscher's fell into a mask of confusion and sadness, "Why? None of them are worth anything anyway."

Letting go of her hand the boy asked, "What's your name?"

"Wendy." The now named girl answered in a shy voice and her head down.

"Okay then Wendy, because they all have just as much value as you or I have." Einar gave a very simple answer to the girl.

The girl became overcome with anger as she tried to refute his claim, "Humans are so full of greed and hate, they desire to destroy themselves and others out a sense of superiority. How can they hold any worth?" Wendy was heated as she proclaimed the greatest flaws of humanity.

"And you're any different?" The boy armed with a blade responded with a calm expression.

The wind Herrscher was startled as she gazed towards the soldier.

"The Honkai seeks to destroy humanity because they believe that they are better that humans. The Honkai lusts for the ability to accomplish that goal. So, I ask you, how then is the Honkai in any way removed for the traits that plague humanity." Einar held his stare at Wendy's eyes as he made his case to the girl.

He could see that she wouldn't change, the Honkai wouldn't allow that, but he wanted to make the argument for himself. He wanted to convince himself that his cause was the right path, despite what he might have to do in the coming moments, days, and even years.

The 4th Herrscher rose into the air, channeling the winds to form the very air around her into a shield of razors.

"I see...the humans have convinced you that they are deserving of life. So, all I have to do is kill them to make sure you see things form my perspective!" Wendy screamed as the wind blasted the boy off the side of the tower.

Reacting quickly, Einar formed a circular portal below him that sent him to a nearby building where he could see the effects of Wendy's attack.

"Now that's just unfair!" The reason for this response was due to the fact that the single attack had caused the entirety of the buildings windows to shatter and the top of it to come clean off.

"Get out of the way!" Shouted a familiar voice into the comm.

Einar observed the other personnel vacate the area as soon as possible as a white haired man with a large assault rifle came up to him.

He looked at the boy, "Guessing whatever you tried didn't work huh." It was more of a statement than a question as the results were clear as day.

Speaking into the comm the boy issued an order, "Everyone who is not focusing on other tasks get up here and give me and Kevin some support. We're fighting the Herrscher."

"Hope that's alright with you." Einar asked the man after the fact.

"Don't have much of a choice anymore, but I wouldn't have complained anyway." Kevin still had quite the bone to pick with the Honkai after all and a kid with superpowers wasn't going to stop him.

The boy's face broke into a large grin, "Good, because I'm gonna be on a time limit so let's wrap this up quick.

Without giving the other party time to respond, his armor reformed into a more exposed version, giving him more maneuverability at the cost of defense. The edge of his sword burned with an orange light as two almost wing like objects formed below his hip. The looked to be two translucent orange rectangles that were angle in opposing directions. There were four in total, with two facing one direction and two facing the other. The ones that faced the same direction were connected by a thin diagonal line that connected them.

Kevin was taken aback for a moment, "When could you do that?"

"I'll tell you later, right now hold on tight!" Before giving time to respond, Einar grabbed Kevin and flung the both of them into another portal. This time to Wendy's location.

* * *

The two appeared on the streets as gunfire was flung in careful volleys and the clashing of Solium against Honkai carapace could be heard.

In the middle of it all was a woman with greatsword fending against a girl with green wings and the wind at her back. Quite literally.

The two rushed to lend assistance to the woman in her fight against the Herrscher.

When they got closer the young girl looked over at them and gained a look of glee, "Einar! You came back for me!"

Upon hearing this both Kevin and Himeko shot a look towards the boy in question that promised pain if he didn't explain after this was all over.

"I came for you sure, but not in the way you want." Einar responded in a cool tone that betrayed his growing ire with Wendy's actions. It was far easier to dismiss the pain of someone you didn't know existed verses a friend, cruel though the logic may be.

The girl said nothing as she continued to grin from ear to ear.

With the brief exchange concluded the three began their assault on the enemy of humanity.

Kevin utilized the weapon that was provided for this mission to strip away her armor for a moment as Himeko came up and slashed the verdant girl.

Wendy managed to control the wind to force her away from the swipe, so she only acquired a small gash on her leg. She followed up Kevin's attack by sending a gust of wind his way that knocked him into some nearby rubble.

The small break in her attention, however, lead to Einar coming up from behind and cutting through her defenses with a blade wreathed in azure lightning. Much like the previous attack Wendy dodged but was rendered slightly numb due to the amount of electricity used.

Himeko growled in frustration as she dodged a blade of wind that sliced the space around her, "All of that effort for two small scratches, we need to hold her down somehow."

Turning towards the white haired man, Einar inquired, "Kevin, can you keep Wendy's shields down for as long as possible."

While confused by the name it was simple to deduce who he was referring to, "I'll do the best I can." He would definitely be having a few words with the boy after the battle.

"Himeko, get ready to deal as much damage as you can soon." The boy issued a warning as he readied his plan.

The two nodded in agreement.

Kevin started off by maintaining a position that allows him to fire multiple shots without being blown backwards.

Golden chains appeared form the ground to bind the 4th Herrscher into her current spot before the business end of Kevin's rifle.

Taking the opportunity, Himeko burst foreword and ran her sword through the chest of the young girl. Blood burst form the wound in a crimson fountain that matched the color of the perpetrator's hair.

A wall of emerald wind promptly slammed into her as she lost her grip on the sword lodged in the Herrscher's chest. Wendy struggled to remove the blade from her chest and staggered backwards onto the ground.

Making his way to the downed girl, Einar sat on the ground and embraced the dying girl.

The girl gave a smile towards the boy despite the situation he put her in, "I suppose this isn't such a bad way to die."

The peaceful expression on her face forced the feeling of guilt to bubble to the surface. What she had done, however, was inexcusable. She reminded him of another girl he met a long time ago when the world was far different.

"It's the least I can do." The boy had resigned himself to this course of action, but it still hurt. Perhaps not an innocent girl but one he still didn't want her death to be the only solution.

No more words were exchanged between the two as the girl slowly closed her eyes for the last time.

This was no time to get sentimental though, the battle to destroy the rest of the Honkai beasts still raged on around them. The only difference was that it was far easier now that the Herrscher was no longer a threat.

Einar stood up.

There was still work to be done.

* * *

He was still asleep right?

The world around him was a simple white void that held nothing but a throne of smooth stone throne that held nothing and no one on it.

"**It's been awhile Einar."**

A soothing female voiced echoed through his head.

He froze as soon as he heard the voice.

"**Don't tell me you forgot who I am?"**

Despite her words the voice giggled as though laughing at her own joke.

The boy turned around, "Kaguya?"

A petite girl with long white hair stood behind him. She was clothed in a simple white sundress that seemed to be rustling along with her wavy hair in a wind that should not exist in this void.

She came up and cupped his cheek in much the same way that Wendy had done earlier that day.

"You're the one that told Wendy about me." It was not a question, simply a vocalization of a fact that had dawned on the boy.

The girl grinned, **"And gave her the power over wind." **She seemed amused at his observation.

"What are you?" That was the question that loomed in Einar's mind more than any other now that he had meet her again.

"**Does it matter that much to you?" **The girl asked, her smile fading slightly.

The boy responded in a hot tone, "Yes, because I want to know why you would encourage the Herrscher's to commit such atrocities."

What had made the girl who was so enamored with the world to become so vengeful?

Her faced brightened upon hearing this, **"I'm glad. As for what I am, well, you'll have to figure that out on your own." **She put one hand on her hip as she leaned over to poke Einar in the chest with a dainty finger, as though emphasizing her point.

Before the boy could ask any more questions, however, the girl held up her hand, **"It seems it's time for you to wake up now though." **She held a genuine expression of sadness on her face as she proclaimed the news.

"Will we be able to meet again?" The boy asked before he left the void of white.

The girl gained a mischievous smile, **"Perhaps, we will see what the future holds."**

With those words, Einar felt a sensation of weightlessness as his vision faded. He heard the girl speak to him as he left.

"**We will see who wins in the end, my knight."**

As quick as he arrived he left the realm devoid of color.

And into the waking world.

* * *

The sounds of several voices chattering could be heard among the familiar rattle of metal.

Einar opened his eyes and was greeted with the inside of the transport craft. The atmosphere was much lighter than it was on the flight to the battle as relief had settled amongst its occupants after its conclusion.

Fu Hua had noticed his awakening, "Glad you could make it 'Hero', wouldn't want you dying on us just yet." Contrary to her scathing words the teen in question smiled at the boy.

"I really hope that nickname doesn't stick." He didn't want to be given any more work than he already had. After all, accolades equal desk job.

Keeping her smile, she elaborated, "Kevin is being called that too."

"I hope the nickname never fades from our minds." If Kevin was stuck with a cheesy name too than he could easily live with it. He would make sure that everyone forgot Kevin's name by the end of the month.

Changing the topic Hua asked, "Why do you have the Herrscher core again?"

"Because for some reason the core doesn't emit as much Honkai energy when its near me. They said it was some sort a resonance and other terms I couldn't be bothered to care about." Einar explained.

After the battle a team of scientist retrieved the core from Wendy's leg. It was then placed inside of a Solium container to prevent anyone from being corrupted by the Honkai energy it exudes.

For some reason that energy almost stopped whenever Einar was close to it. The researchers had surmised that the reason for the disappearance of energy is because the boy absorbed it into his own core. This prompted them to inform him not to carry it for too long as it might cause irreversible damage.

In any event, this led him to be designated as the one to guard the item as they escorted it back to HQ.

Interrupting Hua's next words, Himeko came over to where they were sitting on the transport.

"How was your first mission against a Herrscher?" Even if not directly fighting the person herself, the Honkai beasts were still a problem due to their vast numbers and power as a direct result of Wendy exerting her powers.

Herrschers released an absurd amount of Honkai energy by both forming their gem when they gain their powers and again if they use a large amount of power. This can allow Honkai beasts to form in mass quantities and corrupt many of the civilians in the area, turning them into zombies.

Fu Hua was the first to respond, "Underwhelming at first but it quickly became tiring as the Honkai beasts kept coming. I am a bit down that I wasn't able to test my skills against the Herrscher though."

She did look exhausted, observed Einar. Then again, I'm pretty sure that everyone involved is exhausted to some extent. Heck, even Kevin looked tired! The anomaly didn't think that the white haired soldier could even get tired.

Himeko chuckled as she agreed with the other girl's assessment, "Yeah, Einar was probably the only one in the thick of it for the entirety of the battle, which is the only reason I haven't fired him for slacking off."

The boy in question gained an incredulous look as he turned to his captain, "I don't have a free pass to take naps!" His tone was serious enough that it was difficult to tell if he was joking or not.

"Technically I'm the one that killed the Herrscher so I might have a free napping pass, but you don't." Was the response from the woman as she played along with the boy's delusions.

"This is discrimination! Napping for all is a human right!" Einar raised his arm to the ceiling and shouted this proclamation just as the door to the craft opened.

It seemed the vehicle had landed and who had come to greet them but Professor Mei herself. She didn't seem to react to the news, making the boy wonder whether he was in the clear.

"I don't believe that you or anyone else in Fire Moth has the time to be napping." Was the statement from the scientist as she crossed her arms in disapproval.

Meanwhile, Kevin could be seen over the woman's shoulder trying to stifle his chuckles with a fist.

Without giving Einar the time to defend himself she continued onto more important matters, "Bring the 4th Herrscher core to the lab. I want to know what makes it tick."

Knowing he wasn't going to get out of another lecture form the smart people in the organization he sighed and hopped of off the transport.

"Please keep it under six hours." The boy's eyes were pleading as he remembered the last time something like this happened with the 3rd Herrscher.

"I make no promises."

* * *

In a white void sat a girl whose entire color schemed seemed to be white and white-er.

She sat on a light grey throne with her hand resting below her chin as she looked to be deep in thought.

"**I wonder who I should send next? It's always so exciting to see how he reacts." **She held an affectionate smile on her face as she thought of a certain boy.

Despite that, a single burning question echoed throughout her mind.

_**What are you?**_

For all her knowledge that was something she was unaware of. Perhaps she was incapable of truly understanding her own nature, much like the human now that she gave some more thought.

The humans would come to label her for her connection to the Honkai. The Gestalt Will of Honkai.

For now though, the only name she answered to was given to her by a young boy.

_**Kaguya.**_

**Author's notes: This week sucked. I doubt you want to hear about me though so all I'll say is that school was not fun this week.**

**Moving on to the story, however, I hope you guys enjoyed it! I doubt the fact that Kaguya was the Will of Honkai came as a surprise to anyone though. I tried to make it subtle in the beginning of the story but that might have but more than I could chew.**

**I have also loved stories that have the main heroine as the antagonist, which was sort of the inspiration for this. My main inspiration for the pairing was derived from ****The Unexplored Summon:/Blood-Sign by Kamachi Kazuma, the same author as A Certain Magical Index series.**

**My biggest struggle with this story was probably coming up with a valid reason for the two characters to fall, and remain, in love despite their conflicting values. I think I've got it, but I won't reveal it just yet.**

**Also, I do need to update the 2nd chapter as I realized that I didn't even describe the appearance of Parvati! I merely relied on my readers having played the game and that is unforgivable. I hope this didn't cause too much confusion and I will make the correction as soon as possible.**

**That brings me to the final thing I wanted to address. You guys can either review or pm me if you think that something in the story either doesn't make sense or is just poorly written. I'm mainly writing this story for myself and I do want to improve to make it a more enjoyable experience.**

**And so, with great thanks to all of those that have follow and favorited (for some reason) I will see you guys in the next update.**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	5. A Moment Frozen in Time

A Moment Frozen in Time

Fu Hua was walking down a hall in Fire Moth HQ to Himeko's office. She had finally finished her report of the 4th Herrscher battle.

Why those researching the Honkai required a firsthand account of every single soldier that participated in the battle was unknown to the teen. Mei had once tried explaining it to her, but the explanation went right over her head.

Either way, she had accomplished the menial task and was on her way to turn it over to her captain.

Along the way she saw a familiar face, a certain soldier with hair resembling snow. He looked contemplative as he walked down the hallway.

Deciding the interact with her fellow soldier she joined him, "You look rather out of it, is something wrong?" Hua was genuinely curious, Kevin rarely looked so lost in thought after all.

Kevin glanced up at the teen, "Oh, Fu Hua. Nothing much, just thinking about the battle." The young man's response was curt, but more out of a sense of absent mindedness rather than any ill intent.

"It was certainly a harrowing fight, but I don't think that's what you're contemplating." Hua crossed her arms as she began her impromptu interrogation.

The white haired teen had never shown much fear in battle, if any at all, and sought to exterminate the Honkai with extraordinary gusto. The battle with the 3rd Herrscher was simply more of the same but with higher stakes.

The question then was what had happened during that time that had Kevin so deep in thought.

The young man sighed, "I suppose the simplest way to put it is that, I've seen my limits." Kevin held a look of frustration and...was that envy, as he answered.

"You were fighting a girl with the power to shred buildings in half in the blink of an eye, I would be more surprised if you didn't find your limits." The girl spoke from her own experience as well. She was certainly stronger than she was before but not nearly to the extent being a threat to the Honkai.

"I'm talking less about the Herrscher and more about Einar." Kevin clarified.

It dawned on Hua what he was talking about.

Einar was a human that was able to decimate the strongest of Honkai by himself and was able to restrain a Herrscher for a few moments. Combine that with his skill in utilizing his powers and weapons it would make sense that Kevin might feel rather overwhelmed.

"I don't think it's particularly fair to compare yourself to him on the basis of power." Hua countered, after all it was highly improbably that anything outside of a Herrscher could rival Einar.

Kevin was exasperated as he started, "That's what I just-"

The girl interrupted him, "So then compare yourself to him on the basis of skill"

The male soldier looked intrigued as he silenced his previous complaints, for the moment at least.

"If you can't match him in raw power than beat him with skill, find out his weaknesses and use those to your advantage." Hua's face seemed far more cheerful than a moment ago as her point finally started to resonate with the boy.

She continued, "You would know more than anyone what those weaknesses are, after all." Kevin spared rather frequently with the white haired man, lending credibility to her argument.

The male adolescent pondered for a moment before speaking, "Endurance would be a big one. Even ignoring the time limit he has on his powers, he still doesn't have as much stamina as you might think." Perhaps that wasn't necessarily accurate, Einar went all out from the very beginning of a fight, which wore him out very quickly.

The female soldier seemed pleased at his observations, "See, there's already something you can do to best him. Anything else that comes to mind?"

"His lack of defense. He always wears sparse amounts of armor to focus on speed." Kevin was beginning to see what Hua was trying to get him to see but he still had one question.

"As nice as it would be to be able to defeat Einar how would this help me against the Honkai." The boy in questions had proved to be firmly on their side so he failed to see the point of this other than helping his wounded ego.

Fu Hua's cheerful expression fell from her face like rushing water. She sighed in exasperation as she spoke, "Learning how to beat someone stronger than you is vital in this line of work. We're all still human and the Honkai possess a strength that can't be overcome by force of will. This isn't some fiction novel."

The Honkai had the power to bend reality to their whim. Physics was their playground and nature was their best friend. Herrschers could manipulate space and simple Honkai beasts could freeze entire cities.

Power was certainly important, of that there is no doubt, but it was not something that could be afforded to humanity so easily in the face of such an adversary.

Kevin seemed to take the girl's words to heart from her perspective but before she left he asked her a question.

"What did you do before Fire Moth to know things like this? I doubt you've learned all of this in just a few months." Hua was certainly a bit enigmatic to Kevin. He had no idea of her background and only rarely interacted with her at base.

The girl turned around and shone a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "The world may never know." And with that she resumed her path to Himeko's office.

Kevin sighed, "Why is she quoting Tootsie Pop commercials now?"

* * *

After a very...unique explanation with Kevin, Hua had at long last made it to her captain's office.

When she opened the door, she was greeted with the sight of a certain redhead lying face down on her desk in abject fear.

"Please no more paperwork, I surrender!" Was the woman's cries of despair as she had yet to look up from her desk to see who exactly had walked in.

"I'm not one of your superiors captain." Hua spoke in a dry tone to her commanding officer. She should be used to these situations by now with her and Einar.

Himeko, recognizing the voice, looked up from her makeshift fetal position, "Fu Hua! My savior!"

The woman ran up to the younger girl with her arms outstretched.

Hua swiftly dodged to the left, letting Himeko ran into the door behind her. The personnel outside that heard a loud *thump* expertly ignored all noises coming from the office.

The older woman groaned as she cradled her now injured head, "I should file a complaint for abuse towards a senior officer"

Hua seemed amused as she answered, "If you want to try making that case to Yasuhiro or Mei then be my guest." Himeko immediately paled.

"On second thought I have seen the folly of my actions and retract my previous statement."

Hua, while entertained at the current conversation, decided to make know her reason for coming here in the first place, "I brought my report from the last battle."

Himeko deflated a bit, "Well, at least I don't have to do anything with it other than hand it over to the fancy people in lab coats."

A new voice interrupted the two's conversation, "'Fancy people in lab coats' huh?"

Frozen in place the red maiden slowly turned around to face the chief of the Honkai research department. The Laboratory Demon, Mei.

At least that's what Himeko called her.

A feeling reminiscent of imminent death overtook the Fire Moth Captain, "I meant to say, the important people that don't eat chocolate"?

With the rather obvious joke about Mei's white coat, said woman gained a look of cold judgment.

Himeko immediately turned to gain assistance from Hua, "Please help me oh great and wonderful Hua!"

The younger girl did not answer immediately and instead turned to the professor, "Can I go into the city while you two get this situation resolved?"

Mei gained a fear inducing smile as she responded, "Of course, we'll be here for quite a while."

The girl then left as quickly as she could, not wanting to remain for the inevitable fallout.

_I'll make it up to you later captain, _though Hua with pity. She needed a vacation.

* * *

Somehow she expected this.

What was the cause of her distress?

Einar becoming the champion of the arcade.

Normally this would be the point in the story where we would go back in time to try and make sense of how this came to be but that would be rather useless in this case.

The simple explanation was that Hua's squad mate had somehow become the undefeated king of a fighting game in an arcade in the city closest to Fire Moth HQ. He was surrounded by a large group of people that seemed to be betting on when he would meet his match.

As the girl was debating on leaving, however, the boy seemed to notice her presence.

"Hey Hua!" He yelled over the noise of the crowd as he began to make his way to his fellow Fire Moth soldier.

The crowd seemed quite upset that he was leaving as many had started a betting pool on how many opponents he could best in the arcade before being defeated.

The teen sighed as Einar came over towards her.

"You look as though you're having fun goofing off." Was Hua's observation as the arcade's new champion came over to greet her.

"I was, thank you very much. I would have invited you, but I didn't think you would want to get beat six ways from Sunday in front of such a large crowd." His taunts were obvious to anyone who heard the conversation, including Hua herself.

Not rising to the challenge made in jest, she ignored him for another topic, "What are you even doing here in the first place." She had though that Yasuhiro or Mei would have something for him to do.

"Well funny story about that." He crossed his arms behind his back as he whistled very suspiciously. The girl had no doubt that wasn't trying to hide what happened at all, but she was still curious as to why he was in the middle of the city and not the base.

"I have time." Was her curt response.

Einar ceased his actions as he turned back towards Fu Hua, "Well if you're sure."

The teen said nothing as she waited for his inevitable and probably dramatic explanation of the events that occurred.

"To put things very bluntly I may or may not have used a bit too much electricity during a test and fried every electronic device in the lab?" Even Einar sounded sheepish as he recounted his actions. The girl didn't even know he was capable of being nervous, let alone sheepish.

The female soldier gave the boy a blank look, "You deserve far more than simply being told to leave the base."

"They probably didn't want me to stay around and possibly break anything else." Einar spoke his honest view of his current predicament. "So I, being bored as I was, found this glorious arcade and began to show them my prowess."

"Is there ever a time where you take things seriously?" All of her interactions with the boy were filled with his overbearingly cheerful character. She wondered whether or not he fully understood the situation they were in at times.

The anomaly gave a small smile, "Well yes, but I find it much less taxing to take things in stride than fuss over every little detail. Its far more entertaining that way."

"Entertainment is not a priority when we have the Honkai breathing down our necks." Hua spoke her opinion of her companion's words.

"Perhaps you're right but taking a moment to enjoy life can be just as important as fighting the Honkai." Einar realized that he might take that to the extreme at times, but his point still stood. Death could only be mourned if one appreciated the value of life after all.

Hua opened her mouth to object before she was interrupted by the boy grabbing her arm and pulling her down the street.

"Enough of this depressing talk! Today let's relax a bit, you've earned it." The female soldier noticed that he said "you" rather than "we" but didn't think too much of it. Einar wasn't exactly the greatest linguist in Fire Moth after all.

She resigned herself to the boy's shenanigans as she asked, "So, where are we going?" If it was something that she had no desire to visit, like most places he went to, then she would rather be able to leave now without wasting her time.

"To go for a walk of course!"

"Only you could make those words seem terrifying."

* * *

"Where are we going?"

The two soldiers had been walking for a few moments as Einar lead the girl to their destination. The commonplace hustle and bustle of the city seemed so out of place to Hua after they had seen the devastation wrought by the Honkai.

"I have no idea!" Was the response given by the all too cheerful boy.

It seemed as though every time Hua spoke with Einar she lost the will to critique his absurd statements. At the very least she knew that the boy had enough tact not to bring her anywhere too outlandish. Probably.

Einar soon broke the silence, "So, how was Himeko before you left? I don't imagine she was in too fine a condition with her lack of beer."

"I have a feeling that had more to do with Mei's intervention rather than any will power on captain's part." Hua responded with a chuckle.

The two's mutual friend was a great companion and captain, but she had a particular fondness for alcohol that had gotten the group into some rather awkward situations that the none involved would ever speak of.

"But other than that, she seemed alright, it didn't look as though she was too banged up." The girl was referring to their fight with the 3rd Herrscher. Einar had wanted to know as to whether the woman was falsifying her condition to any extent. Luckily it seemed as though he had worried for no reason.

He smiled as a though crossed his mind, "Well she did participate in the battle against the 2nd Herrscher, so I suppose she's far tougher than she looks. And considering she wields that greatsword like it's a paperweight, that's quite impressive."

"She's even beat you a few times hasn't she?" Questioned Hua with a smirk, as she remembered one of the few times the two had fought.

"One time! I lose one time, and no one lets me live it down!" Einar yelled, "Either you guys had some inhuman expectations for me, or you doubt Himeko's ability. I'm honestly not sure which one I find more insulting!"

A laugh escaped the girl's lips, "Well considering everyone had the perception of you being some kind of superhero, it was amusing to see you get beat over the head with a mere wooden sword."

"A demon sword is what I would call that thing." Murmured the boy in a quiet defense of his pride.

"Oh, is someone a sore loser?"

"Hey, that sword could command the armies of Hell itself, I want to see you try and face that without flinching!" The soldier shivered as the memory of his time against the wooden blade came to the forefront of his mind.

"Sure, sure." Was Hua's doubtful answer.

Einar gazed at the girl with slight heat, "As much as I would like to refute the obvious doubt I hear, we've arrived."

The girl hadn't paid much attention to the scenery as the had walked but the two were now in a park near the edge of town. The tower structures of glass could be seen in the distance, reflecting the fading light of the sun.

It was a beautiful sight to be sure, but Hua was confused.

"Ignoring the fact that you claimed to not know where we were going, why are we here?" The sight was captivating, but the girl did not think that Einar was going to be professing his eternal love or anything that might normally be associated with such a scene.

"To show you what we're protecting." Was all he said.

Hua turned a curious gaze towards the boy and waited for him to continue.

"A lot of our comrades died during the fight with Wendy, so I wanted to show you what that was for." Einar held a complex emotion on his face. It looked to be a combination of pride, sorrow, and remembrance.

"It's so very easy to dismiss the people that live in these cities as unimportant, after all I don't know them." The boy simply turned his eyes at the city's landscape as he spoke.

He continued, "It's so simple to get caught up in the bubble of war that you forget what we're protecting. Sometimes you need to take a step back and realize what you've accomplished before you can move on."

Hua followed his gaze as she stood next to him. _Take more pride in my accomplishments, huh? _Was what she had gathered form his speech. It was hard to do when she saw so many of her comrades perish beside her while she yet lived.

_But that's the point isn't it, _she though.

"Thanks Einar. Maybe you should be a motivational speaker." The girl spoke in jest as she turned back towards him.

"Yeah that's not happening. Imagine me trying to encourage a bunch of buffoons shaking in their boots. I would be personally responsible for at least a few hundred letters of resignation! Yasuhiro would kill me!" He spoke with a faux sense of fear in his voice that failed to match the humor dancing in his eyes.

He continued, "Well you ready to head back or do you want to go somewhere else?"

"Are you going to give another speech?"

"Absolutely not."

* * *

Two woman were seen in a large grey room with numerous displays plastered on the walls.

One had hair and eyes as red as blood and the other had black tinted with the faintest hint of blue.

Mei held was in front of what looked to be a control panel of sorts while Himeko sitting next to a machine with a frighteningly large syringe attached to it.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Mei broke the silence with a question of confirmation.

Himeko gave a grin in return, "Are you so doubtful of your own abilities? I'll be fine, I have to get stronger one way or another."

The liquid that was contained within the needle was a concentrated Honkai solution that was concocted by none other than Mei herself. In theory it would give the one it was administered to a much higher Honkai adaptability rating and superhuman physical prowess.

However, it had never been given to anyone before as Himeko had volunteered to be the first test subject. She already had a particularly high adaptability in case something went wrong, so the procedure was approved.

If the solution succeeded in its goal then it could enhance the biology of Fire Moth soldiers rather than the equipment they used.

"The process most likely won't be painless." Warned Mei.

"I honestly didn't expect it to be. Even normal shots aren't completely pain free." Himeko dismissed the warning with a wave of her free hand. Her right was tied to the machine to prevent it from moving.

The scientist sighed, "Leave it to you to compare something like this to such a simple event."

The red haired woman laughed, "Just remember that you owe me some beer after this is over."

"While that statement is quite off topic, I will agree with that request if you make it through the process."

"Quite pessimistic aren't you?" Complained Himeko, although her voiced lacked any venom.

"In my profession you have to be to a certain extent." Replied Mei.

"I suppose that makes sense. Now hurry up and stop stalling!"

"Alright then, make sure you survive." Mei spoke with a somber tone.

The blood red maiden responded, "Yeesh, enough with the sappy stuff already! I'll be fine, Mei."

The genius gave a small exasperated smile as she pressed a button on the control panel in front of her.

The needle pierced Himeko's skin.

The room was soon filled with the pained screams of a certain captain.

* * *

Einar stared at the ceiling.

Sleep escaped him as he stared at the rhythmic spinning of his ceiling fan.

His mind was filled with the thoughts of the past. Faces flashed through his mind as they either shriveled from age or fell into a pool of blood.

Eventually his mind came to a girl with hair as pure as snow. Kaguya.

His feelings about the girl were complex, to say the least. On one hand she was the girl he had fallen in love with and on the other she sought to exterminate the human race.

The boy wondered if he could kill should the situation arrive. Wendy was a different case as he had just met the girl and held romantic attachment to, rather he cared far more about her connection to Kaguya.

It was a cruel way of thinking.

Of course, it was made worse by Einar knowing exactly why girl was so set on the death of the human race. It was because of him after all.

So, all he had to do was empower the current generation. He had to give them the power to kill both the Honkai and himself, if he choose to protect Kaguya.

He imagined Kevin or Hua having to kill him.

_Well, that's a morbid though, _was Einar's mussing. _Let's just hope it doesn't come to that._

A voice interrupted the boy's thoughts, **"Don't worry, I won't let it come to that, my knight."**

He should have been startled at the girl's voice echoing throughout his head, but he wasn't. Her connection with him was a two way street after all. If he could invade her realm then it only stood to reason that she could invade his.

_Neither will I Kaguya, neither will I._

No matter what happened the two's fates were linked together. This story would only end with their fates ending alike.

Either the both of them lived or died. There was no alternative.

_So, let's begin this fight in full, but I assure you that the ones left standing will not be us._

The girl's presence left his mind and the boy fell asleep. Elsewhere, a captain recovered in the medical wing.

The war had begun its ascent to climax. Honkai evolved and humanity progressed.

A girl bathed in the purest of white, moved her next pawn.

A scientist furthered the technologies of man.

The dance of death begins in earnest and the victor is yet to be decided.

**Author's notes: I hated this chapter. I think I had at least a few thousand words that I scrapped because it didn't make any sense. Of course, that's no excuse for how long it took to make this chapter, but I hope no one is too disappointed. Other than myself of course.**

**This chapter was meant to be a rare breather with the cast. I know people might hate how everyone's favorite Mantis warrior, Kevin seems pathetically weak. That is by design. He hasn't been hardened by years of combat just yet and he's also not a Mantis yet. I want to build up the cast as a groups of people that knows how to use the powers they have rather than overpower the Honkai.**

**That's about all I want to say so I'll just say that updates might be a bit slower until Christmas break. Finals are the incarnation of death itself.**

**And with that, thanks once again for the support with my lazy self.**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	6. The Blizzards' Inception

The Blizzards' Inception

"Ugh..."

A groan was heard in a blank white void. The void should have only been accessible to two people, but someone else now occupied this place.

The noise came from a red haired woman that lay on the ground. She felt groggy as she woke from her position on the floor.

_What happened, _Himeko pondered. She still felt half asleep as her memory failed her.

She stood up with a bit of effort and looked at the area she had found herself in.

It was a vast expanse of space that was a blinding white. The only thing that was in the room was a stone throne that sat a few meters from where the woman had woken.

There was no wind nor smell in the stagnant air. It felt as though she was the only thing with any motion in the entire expanse.

Despite the feeling of solidarity, Himeko could not stop the sinking feeling that formed in her gut. As though she was somewhere she knew she wasn't supposed to be.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the void, **"Well well, what have we here? A rat within my palace perhaps? Or a thief in the night?"**

Himeko swiftly turned to the throne, where a girl clothed in white sat upon it. She had hair just as colorless and skin as pale as snow.

The most striking feature about the young girl, however, was her golden eyes. They seemed to burn with a calm rage that made Himeko feel like a criminal before a queen.

The girl rested her head upon her hand as she gazed at the woman, **"Do you have no defense for yourself?" **The girl questioned in a bored tone.

The words spurned Himeko out of her current confusion, "I- where am I?" Perhaps it was not the best of defenses, but her mind was still groggy, and she was curious where she was and how she got there. She hopped it didn't involve and alcohol again.

The girl laughed at Himeko's words, **"Humans truly are the stupidest of creatures aren't they?" **Her question was blatantly rhetorical and forced the red haired woman to bite back the words she sought to say. She had a feeling this young girl wouldn't take too kindly to anything she had to say.

"**However, you are in a unique position. I can't kill you, as that would anger someone I have great affection for. So, I will offer you a choice; do you seek power or death?" **The girl inquired with a predatory smile that made both options seem like a trap.

The girl continued, **"You were sent to take a portion of my power. I am willing to part with an insignificant amount as long as you choose it for yourself."**

Himeko was suspicious of the pale child, "Why do I have to choose to take it?" She still had no memory of what lead her to this place and was cautious of the girl's intentions.

"**Simply put, if you choose to take the power, then you will die."**

"Then what's the point of it in the first place if I'm only going to die." That seemed rather pointless, after all, what would be the purpose of strength for the dead.

The girl answered amusedly, **"Oh you won't die immediately, but you will not live nearly as long as most. Your frail body can't contain my power forever."**

"And if I refuse?"

"**Then I send you back to where you came from with no recollection of this place or of me."**

Himeko pondered her choices. She still couldn't recall why she was here but had a feeling that this girl was responsible for that.

If she took this offer than she might be able to tip the fight with the Honkai in their favor, but her life would be on a timer. And she wouldn't know when it stopped.

On the other hand, if she refused then they could find another way to beat the invaders without her life being on the line more than it already was.

_Well, when I put it like that my answer is obvious, _Himeko thought with a grim chuckle.

"I accept."

The girl clapped her hands together in childish glee, **"Wonderful! Then let's not waste any more time shall we?" **She stood up off of her throne and walked towards the crimson woman.

Himeko was confused as the girl, who only came up to her chest, stopped I front of her. The girl's eyes burned a bright gold as Himeko gasped.

It felt as though she was drinking fire.

Her blood boiled and her stomach tightened as liquid flames pooled in her body.

The girl smiled innocently as she spoke, **"Do remember to tell Einar this was your decision, alright."**

"Wha-"

Himeko's world vanished in a swirl of black.

* * *

"Ugh..."

Himeko felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she awoke.

"I see you finally decided to wake up." A voice beside her spoke.

Himeko groaned out a response, "I'm sure I didn't drink anything this time."

"No, but you did do something stupid."

The groggy woman recognized the voice, "Fu Hua?"

The girl, Hua, responded, "Yep, it's me. You didn't get drunk, so you don't have to worry about that."

Despite her reassuring words, the girl's face was contorted in a mix of sadness and frustration. As Himeko shook the sleep from her mind and her memories came back to her, she realized why.

"So, you found out huh?" She sighed.

Hua looked a bit incredulous, "Did you seriously expect to keep this hidden forever?" Himeko was her captain after all, the odds that she wouldn't find out about the woman's condition, whether it failed or not, was improbable.

The older woman smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't have expected that to work huh?"

"We would have been before our next mission anyway, which makes me think that you had some other goal in mind."

Himeko looked like a deer caught in the headlights as Hua continued, "I'm not going to pry, but just know that, while I might not like your decision, I would still support you no matter what you chose."

"I would hope not every decision."

"Within certain limits most definitely." Hua agreed. Her captain was certainly not perfect, so it was up to her, as Himeko's subordinate, to set her straight when she needed it most.

The crimson woman grinned, "Well then, I'll be trusting you to set me smack some sense into me if I go to crazy alright?"

Hua smiled, "Of course captain."

The girl was thrilled to support the woman she so greatly admired, she only hoped that Himeko would never need that promised smack.

Only time would tell.

* * *

Mei was found sitting in a simple chair.

The room she occupied was a fairly simple debriefing room, filled with naught but an elongated table with chairs and a single large monitor near the front of the room.

She seemed, however, to be waiting for something or someone.

Suddenly the door to the room slammed open with enough force to dent the wall.

Einar strode through with his face contorted in rage and his eyes burning with color. His right burned a fiery gold and his left crackled in an azure light. The boy looked as though he was going to burn the room to the ground, it was a far cry from the normal cheery and lighthearted expression he usually had.

_So, this is what he looks like when he's mad, _observed Mei with a calm expression. While she couldn't deny the slight fear, she felt when she beheld Einar's face, she knew what he was here for and how to handle the situation.

The boy paused in the doorway to take a long breath before he walked up to the chair that the scientist was sitting in.

"Mei, you are a great friend." Einar started off the conversation, "But give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

The words that the boy spoke hurt Mei far more than she had expected but she maintained her composure and answered him, "You are referring to the situation with Himeko, I presume?"

The question was merely formality, but it never hurt to clarify.

"Of course, it's the situation with Himeko! What were you thinking, infusing her body with Honkai energy!? We have no idea what that will do to her!" Einar spoke with a volume and heat that further emphasized the wrath he felt at having something like this done to Himeko.

The boy was the only one outside of the Herrschers that understood that the Honkai had a will of its own and he worried that Kaguya would corrupt his captain's will.

Mei's voice gained a slight edge to it as she responded, "And when did I need your permission to perform a test on her with her own consent. She is not your responsibility."

The girl's words seemed to hit Einar in the gut.

She continued, "I understand your strength and while it is invaluable, it is not something we can solely rely on. There are far more threats out there than just the Herrschers and Himeko willingly volunteered to help with that knowing full well of the risks involved.

"And this was the first thing that you thought of? Combining humans with the very thing that we're fighting against!?"

Mei raised her voice for the first time during the conversation, "We have the Honkai breathing down our necks. We may have won against the last four Herrschers but what and how many are next is anyone's guess. Adding to that, Honkai beasts are attacking humanity across the globe as we speak! We don't have the luxury of time whether you approve or not!"

She calmed down before responding, "Listen, I know you are quite close to captain Himeko but its either gamble her life or the loves of humanity. I made my choice and so did she."

The logic was sound, cruel though it might be, but a part of Einar's mind still wanted to run from the facts. The only way he could convince Mei of his opinion was by revealing what he knew about Kaguya and that was a very risky gamble.

"I-" He slammed his mouth shut. He had decided long ago to protect Kaguya no matter the cost, only, the cost was proving to be far greater than he had anticipated.

The boy spoke after a momentary pause, "Fine. I won't get in the way of your experiments."

"Thank you. I don't like it any more than you do but it has to be done." Mei attempted to lessen the blow of his decision at least by a small increment.

The boy grunted in response as he once again slammed the door shut as he left.

Releasing her held breath, the girl sat back down in her chair. She hadn't even realized that she had gotten up but assumed that it had happened towards the end of their conversation.

The monitor lit up after a few moments had passed, the face of Yasuhiro present on its surface.

"Well, that went about as well as it could have."

Mei's response was somewhat lethargic as she spoke, "I just hope that we don't push him over the ledge with any future stunts." Crossing Einar was not something the genius wished to do.

Yasuhiro grimaced, "Yes, at least he seemed to see the merits of your plan, even if he still seemed to hold reservations on it. You did well professor Raiden."

"Thank you sir."

The man continued, "Take the rest of the day off, we can't have you working if you're not at your best now can we?"

While Mei wanted to take her mind off of recent events she understood her superiors point, "Very well sir."

Yasuhiro smiled, "Good, I'll be expecting great things from you in the future." With those words the screen cut to black and the man disappeared from the screen.

With an entire day now to herself, Mei mulled over the effects of her recent actions on her relationship with Einar.

The two were quite friendly given the amount of time that they spent together completing various tests, but the girl felt that he always maintained a certain distance that made him feel...detached.

The boy never shared anything about himself. Normally that would seem strange, but he was always such a vibrant presence that she never put much thought into it, but when she tried she couldn't label anything about the boy other than his character. Although it seemed she wasn't too experienced with the latter either, if today's events proved anything.

He reminded her of Kevin in that regard.

Neither were very fond of revealing much about themselves and kept other at a distance. When she and Kevin were back in school she always heard the girls talking about what they thought the white haired teen's tastes in various foods or activities were.

Due to no act of her own she found that she knew the answers to many of those questions, if only because Kevin told them to her many times. It made her wonder if Einar had someone similar to what she was to Kevin, whatever their relationship could be called.

Before Mei could think any more on the topic, however, a knock came from the door of the room.

"You may enter." Was the scientist's reply.

'_Speak of the devil and he shall appear' I guess, _Mei thought as Kevin walked through the door.

The boy took one look at her before commenting, "Rough day I'm guessing?"

"That's certainly one way to put it."

"I saw Einar leaving looking like he was going to paint the town red. You have anything to do with that?" Kevin inquired.

If it was anyone else, Mei would think that they were accusing her of something with the phrasing her friend used. Her time with Kevin and the concerned look plastered on his face suggested genuine worry and perhaps a bit of curiosity more than anything else.

She answered the teen with a small sigh, "I had to inform him of the merits of the procedure Himeko underwent and why I sought to accomplish such a task. He simply was none too fond of my argument but at least he seemed to accept it."

Kevin raised an eyebrow, "If that's what you call acceptance, then I would hate to see what a denial would look like."

Mei's lips curved upwards into a barely perceivable smile, "I suppose I should be thankful that I didn't see that huh?"

"That you should." He stated before changing the conversation, "Are you busy right now?" His intentions were obvious to everyone in the room as he asked his question.

The girl thought for a moment, normally she would reject an offer like this, but she was ordered to take the day off.

"Alright." Was her curt response, which was not as cold as she intended it to be due to the slight reddening of her cheeks.

Kevin gained a large grin, "Then let's go!"

The boy grabbed the girl's hand and led her out of the room. Though easy to forget, the two were still teenagers and should be able to enjoy themselves rather than focus on a war with humanity on the line.

These relatively peaceful days would near their end one day, so it was best to enjoy them while they lasted.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Einar had left the debriefing room.

The boy was angry.

That was a horribly inadequate word to describe the anger that he felt but it would have to do.

He wasn't angry at Mei, at least not too much. She was only doing her job after all and to be angry at her for trying to stack the deck in humanities favor was an admirable goal.

No, he was angry at his own inadequacy.

It was childish and clichéd, but he couldn't help it. He had more power than any other human and he was still unable to protect a single girl.

If he couldn't protect Himeko from herself, then how could he hope to defend Kaguya from anything.

While he was deep in thought he ended passing by a door that opened as he passed. Out of it popped Hua who seemed startled at his sudden appearance.

She grabbed Einar, who was still confused by her emergence, and pulled him into the room she had just left and closed the door. The boy only thought about leaving for a moment before he saw Hua's face, it seemed to say, _try and leave, see what happens._

Any retort that Einar would have said died in his throat as he accepted his fate. He turned around to see what was contained within the room, already half-expecting what he would see.

Himeko was seen on a white hospital like bed with both a confused and amused expression on her face.

All the anger drained from Einar as soon as he saw the woman on the bed.

"That certainly wasn't what I was expecting." She stated with a small chuckle.

The boy sighed, "I forgot how scary women can be." He shuddered as he remembered the times he made girls angry. It was certainly the hard way to learn a lesson.

The crimson haired woman laughed, "Fu Hua can be quite pushy when she needs to be, that's for sure."

"You're telling me." Einar said with a small smile. "Anyway, you look rather comfortable."

Himeko scowled, "Don't remind me. I keep telling them I'm fine, but they insisted that I have to stay in bed for the rest of the day!"

The boy laughed at the anger that his captain expressed at her situation.

"Don't laugh at me! I'll give you toilet cleaning duty for a month!"

The boy raised an eyebrow as he answered amusedly, "I don't think you have that kind of power."

"I should be able to get away with it if I ask Mei." She answered smugly.

"Uh huh, let me know how that works out for you." He responded with a chuckle.

The conversation proceeded to fall into an awkward silence. Einar held a blank look as he stared off into space and Himeko seemed to be thinking hard about something.

Finally, Himeko broke the stretch of silence with a question, "So, should we address the elephant in the room now?" She spoke with a seriousness that was rather uncharacteristic but still held a sense of caution and concern in her tone of voice.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any." The boy responded with a small grimace. As much as he would rather pretend the problem didn't exist, he knew he would have to talk with her about it at some point.

The scarlet haired woman spoke first, "Where do you want me to start?"

"Start and end with why you chose to do this. I know why the choice is logically the best bet we have against the Honkai, but I want to know why _you _did it." He spoke with no trace of anger in his voice, just genuine curiosity.

Smiling bittersweetly, Himeko answered the boy, "Before you get your hopes up, it wasn't because of the death of a family member or I just thought that my life is insignificant compare to the entirety of humanities. No, it was because of you guys; you, Hua, Kevin, and Mei that is."

"Us?" Einar clenched his fists as he heard that.

"Not how you're thinking. I mean that I don't want you guys to have to fight this war at all. You guys are just children, you shouldn't have to bear the weight of the world before you can drink a beer."

The boy pondered for a moment before speaking, "I'm not a child captain. I've already failed the world once and I don't plan on doing it again."

"What do you mean by that?" Himeko asked with confusion strewn across her face.

Deciding not to dodge the question, Einar answered honestly, "That's...not something that I'm willing to talk about just yet, just...know that I can handle anything you need me to. Don't be afraid to relax a bit more."

"And what if you need someone to take the weight from your shoulders?" She questioned.

The boy seemed conflicted as he answered, "I can handle it. I don't want you to bite off more than you can chew."

"You seem to know far more than you're telling me, Einar."

"I do but trust me when I say that this is my fight. You don't need to get involved in my problems." Einar spoke with a confidence that took Himeko slightly aback, as she had not heard him speak with such an emotion until now.

The woman recovered quickly, however, and spoke, "Well as your captain, your problems are mine too, so you'll just have to deal with that."

The boy opened his mouth to retort but closed it upon seeing her face. She was smiling with a confidence and cheerfulness that shocked Einar. Her face expressed her intentions to help the boy quite clearly and almost dared him to oppose her.

"I-" He stuttered out. "Fine, just don't do something like this without at least telling me first. I'd rather not find out that you passed out for 'classified reasons' again."

Himeko laughed, a bright noise that instantly lightened the mood of the room. "That's what they told you? Well in that case your anger makes a bit more sense."

"I didn't find it so funny at the time!" Despite trying to sound angry, the boy had a small smile plastered on his face as he spoke.

"You're right, you're right, next time I'll tell you, deal?" Himeko held up her hands in surrender before reaching one out to the boy across from her.

The boy sighed, "I guess that's the best I'm gonna get." He responded by taking his captain's hand to signify his agreement.

Himeko gained a mischievous smirk as she held Einar's hand. Suddenly she pulled him closer for bone shattering hug as the boy squirmed in her grasp.

"W-wh-what are you doing?" The boy reddened as the woman smiled in amusement.

She didn't respond as she leaned closer, "Just remember that you have someone to rely on as well." As soon as she said those words, she released her grasp on the boy and leaned back into her position on the bed.

"Now shoo! I'm going to spend my day off lazing about in bed and I don't need any more sappy crap today!" She continued.

Einar chuckled, he supposed that their discussion could fall under that label.

"Okay, captain." He chuckled out. "Don't get too bored here and don't drink anything either!"

With those words he left closing the door behind him.

Himeko's smile dropped shortly after he left gaining a somber aesthetic. She thought about the small bits of Einar's past she had managed to pull out of him.

"I don't know what you're hiding Einar, but I hope it doesn't kill you."

The sound of her voice died upon reached the walls of the small room.

Unbeknownst to her, the plans of one girl had just been improved by the crimson woman's actions.

Only time would tell of their effects.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world pillars of ice could be seen growing from the once bustling streets of a large city.

A chilled wind blew throw the otherwise lush green scenery and not a soul could be seen.

No one would find this scene until three weeks later.

By that time, the preparator was already gone.

Like a snowflake that drifts in the wind, the Honkai advanced.

Let's see where this story leads, shall we?

**Author's notes: This took far too long. My excuse is that finals suck and so do I but that's just excuses. So, I humbly apologize for the time it took for this chapter to come out. Although after next week I have Christmas break so that means I can spend more time writing, yay!**

**On that note I do want to say that this will be a rather long author's note so buckle up. Remember when I said in the first chapter that not all chapter would have author's notes? Look how that turned out.**

**Anyway, What I tried to accomplish in this chapter is a progression of development in the realm of Honkai based technologies and the moral quandaries that come with it. With the little we have seen of the Mei of the old era I don't believe that she would be completely for some of the biological experiments without at least a little hesitation. I also realized the Mei has only appeared in the laboratory so far and tried to fix that issue.**

**On a completely different note, the new post Honkai game mode looks awesome! I will not be adding that story into this fanfic as the end of the Honkai will end the story. I'll let you try and guess when that will be.**

**And to wrap things up, thank all of you guys so much for reading! It might not seem like a lot of support to you guys as readers but to me it's a huge amount. I never expected you guys to like this story really at all so the support has been amazing. And as a random shout out, I'm glad you like my story enough to want me to update Mr. Guest!**

**Thanks again.**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	7. A Frigid Conflict

A Frigid Conflict

"Why are we here?"

"A mission."

"You don't say. What I meant was, why are we the only ones here!"

A teenage boy with white streaked brown hair and a mid-twenties woman with long scarlet hair could be seen wandering through what might have been a beautiful meadow in the spring. However, it was currently bathed in the glistening white of a fresh coat of snow that blanketed the area. A forest could be seen along the edges of the meadow a few kilometers away. The two had been walking for nearly an hour and the boy was bored out of his mind.

"Well, I usually go on these missions alone, but I thought you would be up for the task with your recent power up." Was Einar's reply as he gave an exceedingly lackluster answer.

Himeko gave the boy a blank stare, "And how, pray tell, did you get me, your captain, to come with you on this mission without my permission?"

"If I said Yasuhiro, would that make any sense to you?"

A sigh could be heard in response, "That does sound like him, going along with your stupid ideas for reason that escape me."

"Hey! My ideas are amazing I'll have you know!" The boy retorted with indignance.

"All of them?"

Einar withered under the woman's gaze, "Yes?"

Before Himeko could point out the many holes in that argument, her proof came roaring to greet her.

The soldiers' guts shook, as though they were listening to a man play the drums into a loudspeaker. Suddenly, the trees parted and a beast that heavily resembled a T-Rex burst forwards, bounding towards the two Fire Moth members at speeds that contradicted their expectations.

The beast's name was Vishnu, an emperor-class Honkai beast that could regenerate at rapid speeds. It lacked both offensive power and defense as a direct result of the amount of Honkai energy needed to sustain the regeneration. The creature had taken out several squads of Fire Moth scouts as they attempted to monitor its abilities.

Similar to most emperor-class beasts, this one held a strange color scheme compared to its brethren. It was a jet black with a translucent purple flowing through the chinks in its carapace. Its maw was opened as royal purple energy spewed forth like a dying flame.

The two soldiers instantly readied their weapons and took an evasive stance, ready to dodge at a moment's notice.

"Remind me never to go along with you unquestioningly ever again!" Himeko yelled over the noises made by the creature's movement.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad!"

"I'd like to see you try and see you say that to Hua!"

_She's more likely to kill me for this, come to think of it, _the boy thought in fear. His squad mate held their mutual captain in high regard after all, so if she found out that he put her in danger she might not be all too pleased.

"I could just have you run damage control!" Was what Einar ended up saying to the woman.

Any more conversation was paused as the beast finally closed in on their location. The boy decided to meet the beast head on, sprinting towards it as it crashed through the snow.

Einar was right in front on the massive beast before he slid underneath it as it ran overhead. It passed by in the blink of an eye and the soldier quickly stood up before tossing his blade towards the creature with blinding speed.

He used the wind to propel it forwards at a blistering pace. He wasn't the most accurate in terms of anything at range, which was his main reason for using swords over a gun, but he could bypass that handicap with a little thinking.

Right before the sword broke the flesh of the creature, it took on a translucent orange hue as it went through the beast for just a moment, as though the massive Honkai didn't even exist. A moment later a roar of pain echoed throughout the meadow, nearly deafening both soldiers.

Himeko, who had wound up a small ways away, spoke in confusion, "When could you do that?"

A satisfied smirk formed on the boy's face, "I read through the battle logs of the fight with the 2nd Herrscher and wondered if I could replicate some of the things she did."

Einar had stumbled across the records of previous Herrscher fights that he had not participated in thanks to Yasuhiro mentioning their existence to him during one of the two's interactions. The older man had stated that the boy had access to them and that they might assist him in discovering some new abilities that he could imitate.

While he could use most of the powers of the 2nd Herrscher he was realizing his limits a bit more as he contrasted their strengths. The Herrscher was able to make herself momentarily intangible and create an entire space separate from the real world. He was rather jealous, if he was being honest.

All Einar could do was turn objects intangible and at best create an imaginary space that encroached on reality, resting on top of it rather than being a separate space. It was helpful nonetheless, as he was discovering.

The woman opened her mouth to ask a question but was cut off by Vishnu charging at her position.

"My turn then!" Himeko roared at the beast as her large greatsword was suddenly set ablaze with crimson flames.

After Mei's experiment, the captain had her ability to manipulate Honkai energy catapulted far beyond that of the average Fire Moth soldier. She could not generate it, but she could use the energy that was exuded by Honkai beasts and Herrschers for her own abilities. She also seemed to have a certain affinity for fire, something that Einar chalked up to her being a pyromaniac, much to her chagrin.

Vishnu was not swayed by the sight in the slightest and kept charging, crushing everything in its path.

Himeko readied herself, placing her legs far apart, as though she was getting ready to sprint, and lowered her blade at her side.

When the beast appeared before her a moment later, she swung upwards at the beast's head with an inhuman force and caused Vishnu to become elevated for a brief moment before slamming into the dirt below. The sheer force of the blow created a ripple of wind that blew back many of the flowers in the immediate vicinity.

Panting, the captain used her blade to prop herself up as she took several large breaths.

Whistling appreciatively, Einar called out to his companion, "While that was wildly impressive, I don't think it's dead yet." Despite the force of the attack, Vishnu was known for its survivability, a mere two attacks would not cause its demise, no matter the power involved.

True to his words the beast stood up shortly thereafter, black smoke pouring off the injured body parts as the gashes in its body filled with newly formed flesh. The only way to kill it would be to exhaust its supply of Honkai energy, which seeing as how that was what the thing was made of, would be rather difficult.

It was a battle of endurance and the deck was stacked in the Honkai's favor.

Einar grinned, "Well if this thing thinks it's going kill us, lets beat reality back into it. You up for that captain?"

A rhetorical question but she gave a response none the less, "We're already this far, so might as well."

The two sprinted towards the beast.

Himeko charged with her blade slung across her shoulder as Vishnu's mouth began pouring a violet smoke from its gapping maw.

Einar diverged, flanking left to dodge the oncoming attack.

Himeko also flanked the creature, but in the opposite direction. Her blade was aglow with a crimson flame that seemed to attract Vishnu's attention, judging from how it fired a violet beam of mist at the woman.

Meanwhile, Einar had closed in on the creature, utilizing the newly created distraction.

When he was a few meters away he created a large cone of ice from beneath him that vaulted the boy above Vishnu's back.

He coated his blade in electricity before ramming it into the beast's back, causing it to roar in pain and trash about.

The boy leapt away from the creature, leaving his blade stuck in its back, which sporadically released bolts of lightning into the regenerating abomination. As long as the blade remained lodged in the beast's carapace it could not heal that location and the lightning might be able to stun it.

Einar was not particularly sure about that last part, as he didn't know if Honkai beasts had nervous systems to fry, but it wouldn't hurt to try right?

The attacks from the soldier led to Vishnu ceasing its onslaught towards Himeko and giving her an opening. She took it and proceeded to carve a large gash on the underside of the creature, as she moved underneath it, cauterizing the wound. It was still a wound that could still be regenerated but now it would be delayed due to the burns, albeit only a small amount.

As soon she finished her swing, she was enveloped by a small portal that brought her near to her companion's location.

"I could have handled that myself." She spoke with no real venom in her words.

The boy shrugged, "Perhaps, but I could do something, so I did."

He continued, asking, "Any plans for how we kill this thing? It doesn't look to be slowing down and we can't keep this up forever."

Himeko pondered for a moment. The question was how to kill a beast that can regenerate?

_Can we even do that with just the two of us?_ The answer was probably not as they had no way to rid it of its regeneration.

The answer hit her like a truck.

"We don't kill it at all."

Einar looked at her as though she had lost her mind, "I don't think trying to bring a live Honkai beast back to base is such a good idea."

"But it can't regenerate a part of its body if it still has something in it right?"

The boy gained a look of realization as her plan dawned on him.

He gained a smirk, "You divert its attention then and I'll handle the rest."

A nod was given in response as the two proceeded to carry out their plan.

Himeko bolted towards the beast with a speed impossible for that of a normal human.

Vishnu roared in rage at seeing one of those that had caused it pain and swung at the woman with his massive tail.

The woman responded by digging her sword into the ground and vaulting over it as the beast's tail was swung at her. Himeko gripped her sword tighter as the force came crashing into her blade.

The result was mostly favorable.

While her intent was to fully slice off its tail, she did manage to injure it rather significantly. The cost was her getting flung several dozen meters away, but the goal was reached.

Whenever a Honkai beast is injured, it releases Honkai energy in a particle effect. That energy either disperses into the atmosphere or is reclaimed by the creature if it is strong enough.

Himeko's plan was to rid the beast of some of its energy while allowing that energy to be used by someone else. Namely Einar.

Speaking off the boy he looked a bit different compared to normal. Both of his eyes were gold and his hair was entirely white.

He spoke in an echoey tone, reminiscent to that of a Herrscher, "Thanks Himeko! I'll take it from here."

The world was enveloped in a bubble that bathed the world in shades of blue. Everything shared the same color and seemed to blend together into a single object. The real world could be seen looming in the distance, white snow shaded blue, as though looking through tinted windows.

Not much time was given to admire the scenery, however, as thin rectangular pillars immediately protruded from the ground and pierced Vishnu's hardened carapace.

The monster roared in agony as the objects pined it to the ground.

The wounds ejected more Honkai energy for the soldiers' use. Einar created a multitude of blades that hung in suspension above the creature and Himeko ignited them with a blood red fire.

Neon purple energy was ejected from the beast's flesh as it was wounded yet again. It thrashed and fired a pillar of mist from its maw.

Einar gasped from breath as he maintained the bubble around them. The moment he let go of his control over the area around him, then Vishnu would come charging towards him and he wouldn't be able to avoid it.

A bolt of lightning struck the beast at the behest of the boy, the metal in the creature's body conducting it like a well-practiced choir.

Himeko, who had moved in front of the beast, clutched her flaming blade and _swung._

Space itself seemed to distort under the intense heat from the sword and its target faired no better. It screeched in abject pain as the flames burned its jaw to cinders.

As the flames died down, Vishnu fell.

Its limp body hung aloft only by the pillars Einar had formed.

The azure world around them faded away, along with the changes in Einar's appearance.

Himeko relinquished her control of the flames that enveloped her greatsword and sent a message through her comms. Any Fire Moth personnel in the area would be there soon to take what was needed back to base.

"Are you alright captain?" A male voice echoed.

"Just peachy. You do these missions alone?" Himeko asked incredulously.

The boy mustered any energy he had left and chuckled, "Yeah well, usually they can't heal so it's not nearly this difficult most of the time."

"I really hope a Herrscher that can do the same never appears."

The boy groaned, "Now you've gone and done it. At least three are going to pop up now that you said that."

The captain smiled exhaustedly, "Why three?"

"Because it's always three of something isn't it?"

"I'm going to ignore what you just said for the sake of my sanity." As Himeko spoke the quite sounds of an engine could be heard amidst the winds of the snowy field.

Einar formed a staff a used it to prop himself up off the ground, "Sounds like our ride is here."

"Yeah, sounds like it. Can you help me up, I'm exhausted?"

"I can keep myself on the ground let alone help you up!" Einar spoke with as little energy as required.

Himeko looked shocked, "You would leave a woman on the ground to fend for herself?"

"If I'm tired enough? Yes." Was the boy's curt response.

"What if I ordered you to help me up as your captain?" Himeko revealed her trump card.

"Then I would immediately disobey your orders and go take a nap."

The two continued to argue until the aircraft came to take them back to base. If anyone was asked what they made of the argument, they would say, "A bought of friendly banter."

And so, with smiling faces, the two finished their fight against the Honkai beast, confidant they could face whatever came their way.

**"..."**

* * *

_The smell of sulfur filled the acrid air._

_Corpses littered a vast field under a blood soaked sky, the sun held just above the horizon._

_The clashing of metal had long since ceased and the only movement that could be seen was a young man roaming the bloodied field._

"..ak...u..."

_A noise penetrated the silence. Vultures, scavenging on the flesh of the fallen._

_The man held a gleaming silver sword that reflected the dying rays of the sun. It might have been a beautiful sight if it was not coated in a layer of crimson liquid that fell from the edge in thick droplets._

_He was covered in a dark red liquid. His clothing contained numerous cuts in many places that revealed the pristine muscle that lay underneath._

_The man was known only as the Immortal Demon._

"...Wak...p..."

_Most thought of him as simply a myth, a story to keep children in line._

_Those who faced him on the battlefield thought anything but._

_What he was, let alone what he fought for, was a mystery to all but the man himself. A single promise is what kept him moving forwards, towards the fading light of that fiery red orb._

"WAKE UP!"

The world exploded into a white light as Einar's eyes jerked open.

"What? Did something happen?" The boy questioned in a rather groggy tone. No amount of time could increase his awareness after waking up. Something he was doomed to live with, he supposed.

Contrary to his expectations it was Fu Hua who was standing above his prone form, looking none too pleased.

"Oh, something happened all right."

_Is she about to do what I think she's about to do? _Einar thought while putting on the best apologetic face he could manage.

"You took the captain on an extraordinarily dangerous mission with no backup! Not even telling me where you guys were going!" Hua began her tangent, intending to have the boy in front of her see things from her point of view.

Einar was, unsurprisingly, not paying any attention at all.

Don't get him wrong, he found Hua very enjoyable company but her...overprotectiveness of sorts, towards Himeko was worrying to say the least.

_At the very least, it's nice to know that she isn't even slightly fearful of me. _While several members of Fire Moth, mostly rather high up members, had no particular fears of him, the same could not be said of many of the lower ranking troops.

It made sense given the fact that he shared so many characteristics with that of a Herrscher. Mei could make a detailed report with several hundred pages about the differences, but it would do nothing to assuage their fears.

It wasn't something he was terribly fearful of though, he was more than capable of defending himself if worst came to worst and more than that he understood their positions. Fear isn't rational after all. It did mean that he himself would probably be far scarier than any Halloween costume he could come up with.

_Though that isn't much comfort now that I think about it, _Einar though with a mental chuckle.

Meanwhile, Hua seemed to finally be wrapping up her rant that Einar still had not paid a single word of attention to.

The girl ended with a question, "...so do you understand Einar?"

As he wasn't that much of an idiot the boy responded with, "Of course Fu Hua." With as much confidence as he could muster. He even kept up the apologetic look to further convince her.

"Okay, then let's go."

Einar froze. _Maybe I should have at least paid a little attention to what she was saying. _He had most likely just signed up for something that he would have otherwise refuted.

Hua turned around and gave one of the most terrifying smiles the boy had ever seen, "You are coming aren't you."

Einar gulped, "Yes ma'am."

She totally knew didn't she.

_Whoever said 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' was wise beyond their years._

Well, whatever she was going to subject him to couldn't be that bad, right?

Right?

* * *

Forget eating his own words, he needs to eat an entire dictionary.

As it would turn out the punishment was to spar with Fu Hua.

With a weighted jacket.

Using his bare fists.

Every attack he gave was deflected by the girl's metal gauntlets. Since he also wasn't allowed to use his Honkai powers there was almost no way of him winning.

"You're a demon you know that?" Einar stated as he failed to land a blow on his partner yet again.

In stark contrast to Einar's pain ridden expression, Hua giggled her response, "Why thank you."

"I wouldn't feel so accomplished beating a swordsman in martial arts with these handicaps." The boy tried to bring the girl back down to Earth before her confidence ballooned ever further.

"It's not about beating you and more just about punching you to get some anger out." Hua proclaimed with an innocent smile.

Seeing this new side of Fu Hua took the boy aback for a moment, halting his movement.

And giving time for the girl to knock him square in the face.

The boy fell flat on his back and said his words of surrender, "Okay okay, you got me. Can we end this torture now please?"

A chuckle was given as she extended a hand to help him up, "Alright, I think this valuable lesson was taken to heart."

"Don't make you angry?"

"That should have been something you followed from the start."

The boy rolled his eyes as he took hold of her outstretched hand, the bruises on his forearms rapidly shifting colors before fading away entirely.

"How long have you been able to do that?" Hua asked using her hand to motion in the direction of his wounds.

The boy shrugged, "I believe it's been as long as I've had this power of mine but I'm not a hundred percent sure. It is the only power that I've never had to concisely use so that's something."

"Can I ask the limits or is that a secret?" The girl was certainly curious, but she didn't want to pry if her companion wasn't willing to reveal how to kill him.

"I don't mind sharing with you. There are defiantly some I would be hesitant with, but I trust you." The girl wouldn't be aware, but it was the first time Einar had uttered those words aloud in quite some time. He wasn't so naïve as to trust everyone on sight or simply because they were in the same group.

He continued after a second of thought, "It's really just like my other powers, use it too much and I turn into golden mist. Not much else to it."

_That doesn't seem like something you should just gloss over, _Hua mussed silently. Quite literally disappearing would be something she would take a with a bit more seriousness, but she surmised that he was used to it at this point.

Einar clapped his hands together, regaining Hua's focus, "All of that aside, where's Himeko? I didn't see her when you woke me up and we've been preoccupied for the past little while."

"She was headed towards the infirmary last time I checked. Dr. Mei wanted to see if there was anything that went wrong with her during the fight." She accented her words with a glare in Einar's direction reminding him that he was the reason she went at all.

The boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, that's my bad, sorry."

Hua sighed, "As long as you understand." After saying that and putting up her equipment, she left the training room leaving the boy alone in the relatively large room.

_Hope Himeko's okay, _he thought. He did not want to cause the death of another friend.

Not again.

* * *

Meanwhile a certain red head was laying on a bed like machine. A woman with black hair was standing over her pooling over various information on a small screen in front of her that was reflected back in the lenses held aloft on her face.

"Everything check out Doc?" The woman on the machine questioned.

"Other than the fact that you currently have enough Honkai energy in your body to kill a normal person? No, nothing."

Himeko chuckled sheepishly, "Guess I overdid it a bit, huh?"

Putting down her device, Mei responded, "Not as much as you might think. You were far from level that would be dangerous to you but certainly at a point to be of minor concern."

Himeko wasn't a Herrscher after all, her body was not made to carry vast quantities of Honkai energy. It would eventually leak out and affect the other soldiers. A quirk that would need to be fixed should this process be used on anyone else.

The scientist continued, "Regardless, the only reason it got this bad after a single mission was because you though it would be a good idea to use the ambient Honkai to further increase your own body's capabilities."

Mei didn't raise her voice, but the heat in her words could be felt with extraordinary clarity by the one to whom they were directed.

Himeko gritted her teeth, "And if I don't do something like that then how can I hope to match Einar?"

Perhaps the easiest way to view the woman's relationship with Einar was that of an aunt and nephew. She sought to help him if she could but wasn't the one who raised him. The thought of a single boy carrying the fate of the world was something that Himeko sought to rectify as soon as she could, by any means necessary.

With an astounding bluntness, Mei spoke, "You can't."

She quickly held up a hand to stop the inevitable protests, "At the very least not yet. We don't even have the technology to differentiate Einar's core from that of a Herrscher's by more than a few percentiles. That's even with the knowledge of how we can see they effect their host."

Mei looked disappointed as she continued, "I don't want to rely solely on a single soldier either, for both moral and practical reasons. But right now, we don't have much of a choice, you have to accept that, at least for now."

Himeko said nothing. She knew that anything she would say would be in defiance of the facts in front of her. The cold truth was simply that she was powerless to do anything to stop the current course of events.

"Damn it!"

Himeko smashed her fist into the side of the machine. The echo of the impact against the hollow metal rang throughout the room.

Mei said nothing, which the other woman took as silent agreement.

It was time to go to work. For humanity and for those they held dear.

Only time would tell of their results.

* * *

_Rain poured from the heavens, as though the sky itself was weeping._

_A young man trudged through the mud and water, walking without rest to an unknown location._

"_Hey! Mister!"_

_The man stopped and turned his head to the side, his eyes leisurely following suit._

_A young boy stood under the awning of a large structure, the rain leaping off the roof, forming a curtain of water separating the boy and the man._

_The boy was dressed in wealthy clothing, vibrant colors decorated his robes as he ran over to greet the man dressed in muddied garb._

"_What are you doing out in the rain? You'll be attacked by bandits if you wander around during the rain!"_

_The man said nothing as the young boy gripped his sleeve._

"_Come on, we can at least shelter you for the night if you have nowhere else to go." The boy's face showed only worry, not the slightest hint of malice was hidden amongst his innocent features._

_The man spoke for the first time, "Bandits don't concern me." His voice so quiet it nearly faded into the backdrop of rain._

_The boy was having none of his arguments, however, and proceeded to drag him towards the house._

"_I have a feeling that we'll be great friends mister!" He spoke cheerily._

"_Why?" Was the simple question asked by the man._

"_Because my mom said that if we help people then they will help us back!" The boy spoke his naïve opinion._

_The man knew that humans were not nearly so kind. And yet, the smile of the boy seemed far too innocent to corrupt with the evil truths of the world._

"_What's your name kid?"_

"_Takeru! Kusanagi Takeru! My father is the lord of the area, Lord Kusanagi. I'm planning to be as good a lord as him when I grow up!" The boy spoke of a common desire amongst boys of an era, to be like their fathers._

_The boy, Takeru, continued, "What's your name Mister?"_

_The man hesitated for a moment, before answering._

"_Einar."_

_And with that a friendship was formed on a cold day of rain and blood. _

_The Immortal Demon and the Sacred Lord._

_And all the while, a girl watched._

**Author's notes: So, this took a while huh? *laughs nervously* I've been really trying to improve my writing as of late, so I hope the increase in quality was worth it. It was also longer than any of my other chapters which is something I'm proud of!**

**This chapter was packed with a ton that I plan to use later. I mean, I packed in character interactions, fights scenes with new powers, and even a flashback sequence! I'm actually really proud of the flashback sequence. I wanted to contrast who Einar is with who he was in his life, this chapter explicitly put out in the open that Einar is far older than he seems but not exactly how old. I'll get to that eventually. The idea for the flashbacks came from a really good Fire Emblem: Three Houses fanfiction called **_**Love in the Dark **_**by **_**GirthJohnson.**_** I recommend you go check it out if you want a really good romance.**

**One thing that I've had hammered home when writing this was how much emphasis Honkai Impact 3****rd**** places on its characters and those relationships rather than the action scenes. I think it's why Honkai is still undefined and yet the story is still really good. Of course, I'm not nearly that good so I've been busy trying to come up with a lot of background stuff. I'm sticking to cannon for the most part for things like Herrscher powers and Divine Keys (Including the recently revealed 2****nd**** and 3****rd**** ones) but I have had to make a couple ideas for some that I might throw into the story. Those are only weapons though and there is currently only plans to add one more OC that will have a supporting role. **

**Vishnu is an actual Honkai beast that is mentioned in cannon (the Honkai that makes up part of Theresa's genome) but i gave it the form on the "Cutie" from the Odd Drifter event in game. Random fact; Vishnu is the Hindu preserver god. His domain makes sense when you compare it to the regeneration of the Honkai Impact Vishnu, it "preserves" itself by regenerating injuries. I might make a few more original Emperor-class Honkai beast but I will only use the forms of Honkai beast that show up in game, like a chariot or templar.**

**But shoutout to a reviewer by the name of **_**dragonngo**_**! He (Or maybe she, I don't know) has been helping me out of bunch by letting me bounce some ideas off of him to see what might and might not work. So, thanks friend!**

**Last thing to mention is the next chapter. I'm going to try and get it out before Christmas, but with me going to visit family and all that might not happen. I'll do my best!**

**And with that, see you in the next chapter and Merry Christmas!**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	8. The Winter's Thaw

The Winter's Thaw

_A clash of metal could be heard ringing throughout a courtyard._

_Two figures were locked in a duel amidst the confines of a luxurious palace. One, a rugged man who looked to have borne witness to a vast variety of events. The other, a young man with eyes that reflected emotions unbecoming of one seemingly so young._

"_You can't simply swing your blade around like a stick!" The older man replied. "Your blade is your constant companion, to use it without thought, invites the enemy to run you through. With the way you handle your weapon, I might be inclined to let them."_

_The young man dusted off the gravel from his impact with the grains of rock. From the look of annoyance and frustration on his face, it was clear this was not the first time he had fallen to such a position._

"_Aren't you supposed to swing it around?" Asked Einar with a face filled with exasperation._

_The gruff man replied with boundless patience, "You do not simply, 'swing it around' as you say. You allow your blade to flow like water within your hands, you shape the waves with the grace of Amaterasu and the strength of Susanoo."_

"_That was more poetry than it was helpful advice."_

_The older man sighed at this remark, it was not the first the boy had made dismissing his more formal speeches. This boy held no respect for ancient customs._

"_Never stop moving. That is the essence of a true master swordsman."_

_At the confused nature of his apprentice, the man elaborated, "Carry the weight of your previous strike into the next and then the next and then the next. Stop only to parry the blows of your adversaries but keep connecting your strike to the next action you take. Strike, not with the power of a mountain but with the grace of the water. Erode the enemy through perseverance until they fall, never giving ground."_

_Einar pondered the man's words. They didn't make much sense to him at the moment, but they were certainly leagues above his previous words of advice._

_The older man had reached out a hand to help up the still prone form of the other male. The latter accepted and said, "Again."_

_Smiling, the rugged lord responded, "Are you sure?"_

_The boy bore no talent in the art of swordsmanship, the only factor that would decide his growth would be perseverance. The ability to face his failures and incompetence with renewed vigor._

_The boy simply nodded, a bit of light shone in his eyes. A light that hadn't made its appearance since he arrived in his home by way of the lord's son. It was only a small flicker, an ember, but it had the chance to grow into a roaring flame._

_The lord gave a toothy grin, "Alright then, begin!"_

_The courtyard was soon filled with the crash of metal once more._

_And all the while, a small girl watched._

* * *

The sounds of crashing objects could be heard. Sounds reminiscent of shattering glass amidst a frozen glade.

A male figure could be seen slicing down an onslaught of icy protrusions that sought to impale him. He carried a simple single edged silver blade coated in golden flames.

Several meters away a white haired maiden could be seen with her arm outstretched. Her eyes were a pale blue that seemed to hold little care for the things it gazed upon save the boy in front of her.

Einar used his sword to slice the large pillars of ice before they reached him. He twirled his blade with both hands as he spun, almost dancing, as he cut the ice. The flames coating his blade allowing it to cut through with an impossible ease.

"Is this going to be a recurring thing or what?" Einar asked during his flurry of attacks.

The girl gave a blinding grin, "Only if you want it to be."

The boy cut through an icicle and vaulted himself upwards, slicing more frosty protrusions as he fell.

"Well, considering you're kind of ruining the seasons, I'd say we need to keep it to dates at the ice rink." The boy jested while he closed the distance between them.

The girl held a dainty hand to her cheek as her cheeks gained a red hue, "That might be quite nice..."

The girl's ponderings gave way to a gap in her defenses that Einar capitalized on, rushing towards her at tremendous speeds.

No retaliation was given as the boy impacted the girl with the edge of his blade and dragged it through her torso, meeting nearly no resistance.

The blushing face of the girl proceeded to melt away as her severed body faded into liquid.

The boy dismissed his sword as he gained a look of annoyance on his face, "Another copy? This is getting ridiculous."

_Although that's probably the only reason such an idiotic strategy worked, _the boy though to himself.

The 5th Herrscher, the Herrscher of Ice.

She had exhibited tremendous control over both the temperature and ice, so much so, that she could create copies of herself that she could manipulate like a proxy body. Fire Moth has not yet detected multiple copies appearing at the same time or within a set period of one another.

This meant that she couldn't make more than one at once but the time it takes for her to make something so detailed is yet unknown. It's not as though Fire Moth can find a single individual's exact location and appearance perfectly, so the Herrscher's location still remained elusive.

The upside was that none of her copies seemed particularly powerful, which meant Einar could take them on alone and inform the teams on standby whether it was legitimate or not. So far, no luck.

Sighing, Einar opened up the comm link of his ear, "Another fake. Kevin, can you pick me up?"

A disappointed sigh met the announcement as the aircraft rendezvoused with the boy. Unlike Einar, Kevin was on standby and didn't have anything to do but wait until the true Herrscher was found. And, as horrifying as Herrscher are, combat was still vastly more enjoyable than sitting in a metal aircraft in the middle of a Honkai made snowstorm.

Despite Kevin being one of the most patient people Einar knew, he was getting tired of the many Herrscher clones that they had encountered. He understood the advantage that a surprise attack might provide but it was far from a riveting experience.

The vehicle was also nice for preserving the limited amount of stamina that Einar possessed for controlling Honkai. A downside to his powers that Kevin found more cumbersome by the day.

With the silver aircraft landing Einar took a last look at the surrounding area, it was still covered in snow and frost. He chalked that up to the Herrscher not being defeated yet and climbed into the vehicle.

Inside the craft Einar made his way to the cockpit where Kevin was currently piloting the ship. Yasuhiro didn't want to risk the lives of any pilots for this ploy and gave orders for Kevin to be given pilot training.

Initially, it was Einar who was going to fly but after nearly crashing four different aircraft that idea was scrapped.

Kevin, surprisingly enough, was the one to break the silence, "What's wrong."

Einar gained a look of shock, he hadn't expected Kevin to be the type to ask questions regarding feelings.

The white haired teen continued, "While I have a feeling that you're thinking something rude, I'm going to ignore that for now."

He spoke in a level tone, "Ever since your first fight with one of those icicles, you've been acting a bit out of it. Not to a worrying degree, but enough to make me curious about what's on your mind."

Einar adopted a more somber expression, "I can't help but feel nervous from all of this. A Herrscher appears that has the ability to clone herself, no matter the lessened power of those clones, and all she does is bring us out to the middles of nowhere for a pointless conversation."

The boy crossed his arms as he voiced his concerns, "Something else is going on, I just don't know what."

Kevin though for a moment, "Can Herrschers increase their power?"

His companion shook his head, "No, they can only use what they have in their cores. They can't stockpile any more than that. Although, that amount of Honkai energy is still capable of leveling the Earth's population."

The albino teen spoke after a moment's respite, "As interesting as that is, I don't think it's what's bothering you."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're only perceptive when it's annoying?"

"Just answer the question without trying to change the subject."

Einar sighed as he gave in to his friend's demands, "Have you ever thought about why we're trying to save the human race?"

Kevin's eyebrows shot up as he glanced from his view of the sky to gaze at the boy beside him.

"That's a loaded question."

He continued, "Can't say that I've ever needed to give it much thought. After all, everyone that I care about is human and I don't think Mei would be pleased if the rest of humanity died."

Einar interjected, "You're talking far more apathetically then I imagined you would."

"You asked a very apathic question, so I feel it's warranted. But what about you, I have a feeling you just wanted to contrast your own answer with mine."

"Yeah, I did..." He trailed off as the hum of the aircraft was left to fill the silence within it.

He spoke up after a short while, "Would you answer the question differently if Mei was a Honkai beast?"

Seeing where this was going, Kevin asked a question himself, "Are you in love with a Honkai beast?"

Rather than answering the question Einar smiled, "Can I take that as a proclamation of love for Mei? Want me to tell her?"

If this were about anything other than Mei, the white haired teen might have resisted the shift in conversation. Alas, it was not and so the topic shifted in Einar favor.

"Why are you so insistent on getting me in a relationship with Mei?" Kevin asked. It was something that his friend had focused on since their very first conversation after all.

The anomaly gained a bitter smile, "Because while I won't let you die, I can't guaranty that you'll make it out as you were before."

"Well, that was cryptic and not at all helpful." Was the response given to him.

Einar laughed, "Yeah, I learned from the best."

While curious, Kevin did want a response to his earlier inquiry and refused to go down a rabbit trail.

"What did you mean that I might not 'make it out as I was before'?"

"Just that."

Seeing that his companion was less than impressed with his explanation, the boy elaborated.

"Look what happened to Himeko, she was given a portion of Honkai energy to further adapt herself to combat against the Honkai. Knowing your devotion to Mei's goals, what are the odds that something similar, if not worse, will happen to you."

Kevin was quiet as he thought about those words. He would have agreed to perform the same procedure in a heartbeat if Mei had only asked, but what could that have done to his ability to contact her should that be the case.

The boy seemed to deflate as he continued, "Look, I don't want to scare you off from making any decisions like that in the future. I just want you to be able to say what you feel before you don't have the chance anymore."

It was then that Kevin put a few things together.

"Just who is the girl you fell in love with?" He asked.

Einar froze for a moment before chuckling, "Guess I was a bit careless huh?"

"Subtly isn't exactly your forte."

"You're not wrong there." The boy laughed at his own expense. "All I'm willing to say right now is that she's not a Honkai beast or a Herrscher."

Seeing that he most likely wouldn't budge on the issue Kevin asked another question, "Alright, then then tell me how old you are at least."

"Yeesh, you people really love trying to figure out my personal life..." Einar stated with no real venom in his words.

"Well, you're far easier to understand than the Honkai." Kevin explained his flimsy reasoning.

In truth, the only reason he had any suspicion at all about this topic was due to him being the confidant of a certain scientist.

"Just try not to crash this ship in shock, okay?" The boy replied.

Kevin answered, "That would kill me too, so I'll try."

"Guess that the best I'm gonna get...I'm sixty-two thousand years old."

The aircraft lurched downwards a bit.

"I though you said you would try to suspend your shock for a moment!" Einar shouted in slight panic. Sure, he had a multitude of ways to avoid the situation, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Forgive me for expecting you to be a few centuries in age and not as old as dirt!"

Einar yelled, "Expect the unexpected!"

After the two were no longer facing imminent death the conversation resumed.

Kevin spoke first, "Did King Arthur actually live?"

"Oh, this is what we're going to? How many famous people have I met? Just because I'm old doesn't mean that I knew kings and queens."

"Old might be an understatement." Kevin replied under his breath.

Einar, having heard the remark, fired back a retort, "This just means that as your senior, you have to hold doors open for me."

"That is not happening. Ever." Kevin responded quickly.

"Awww..."

Ignoring the boy's sad remarks, Kevin continued the earlier topic, "So about King Arthur..."

"We are not doing this for the entirety of the flight."

"What about Merlin? Did he exist too?"

And so, Einar learned of his friend's, frankly surprising, interest in the heroes of myths and legends.

When they finally got back to Fire Moth base the anomaly was ready to bang his head against a wall and the albino looked strangely contemplative.

The personnel who saw the two agreed to never ask about what transpired.

* * *

After bidding a goodbye to Kevin, Einar made his way down the winding halls of the steel structure and eventually ran across a familiar red head.

"Einar! I'm so glad you're here, please let me try this out on you!" She proclaimed with a complete lack of shame while holding a large sword.

"Absolutely not." Was the immediate rejection made by the boy.

Himeko was, for some reason, shocked, "Why not?"

"The better question is why would I?! No one in their right mind would willing let themselves be a punching bag for a Honkai powered woman!"

Reason for Einar to refuse was the large white greatsword held in his captain's hand. It looked almost like a folded angel's wing and had an orange hand guard along with an orange halo around the bottom of the handle.

_This might be the first time that I have ever seen a single edged greatsword, _observed the boy as he stared at the blade that Himeko wanted to pierce him with.

"Okay, lets backtrack a bit. Why, do you want to use that thing on me? I know I'm more resilient than most, but I hardly consider that a valid reason."

Himeko proceeded to explain, "You see, Mei found out that she could use the Honkai energy contained within Herrscher core fragments and the Honkai containment properties of Solium to create these awesome weapons!"

She held up her sword to further prove her point.

"You make it sound like there are more." The boy pointed out.

Himeko snapped her fingers, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you but there are more!"

She took him by the arm and dragged him to a nearby room.

Inside, many orange and white weapons hung above terminals with several persons in white coats mingled about them.

Suspended in the air hung; a pair of pistols, a sword, and even a scythe.

_Conventionality was not a feature when designing these things was it, _Einar thought.

He turned back to face his captain, "And you thought I would be a better candidate for using these on rather than a dummy, why?"

"Well, a dummy can't fight back." Himeko stated while looking at her subordinate as though he were stupid.

Einar brought a palm to his face, "Please mention that I can fight back to begin with."

The woman looked puzzled, "Of course you're fighting back, that way we can test two weapons at the same time."

_I'm really starting to question what my role here is._

He grabbed the small sword. It was a katana with a cross guard, which was already unusual, and the blade seemed to morph into wings to cover the handle. The handle was black along with the flat of the blade and both had streaks of orange light running through the middle.

"Just note that my marksmanship is abysmal, so someone else should use the pistols." The boy warned.

"Noted." Said Himeko as her lips curved upwards, as though the thought of being able to use them amused her.

_This is going to hurt, _was the last thought Einar had time to make before his captain came lunging towards him.

Luckily for Einar, however, a loud noise buzzed in the device confined in the ears of the two who were about to duel.

"Tsk." Himeko clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Seeing as how Himeko was mildly upset the boy answered the alarm.

"The 5th show up again?"

A calm female voice spoke through the other end, "Yes, but this time its attacking something a city rather than simply a forested area."

Einar furrowed his brow in confusion. Why would the Herrscher decide to suddenly attack humans now? Something didn't add up.

"Where is she?" Was the simple question he asked the scientist.

She answered almost immediately, "A relatively small city in Hokkaido, just east of Mount Yōtei."

A sharp intake of breath followed the words. Einar was clenching the white sword with a force that had his knuckles resembling it in color.

"I'm leaving, now." The boy spoke in such a frigid tone that forced Mei to question for a moment whether it truly was Einar who said those words. He seemed acquainted with the place, so he should know that it was abandoned a few years before the Honkai even appeared.

The raven haired woman doubted her companion would listen to her, for reasons yet unknown, but she still had something to share with him.

"Einar."

"I'm leaving." He repeated his words in a much more forceful manor this time.

Mei sighed, the boy was quite difficult sometimes, not willing to listen to anything at all.

"Not trying to stop you. In fact, I have a gift for you." The scientist revealed.

Pausing in confusion, Einar asked, "I don't believe I've done anything worthy of the sort and it's not my birthday yet."

"Consider it an investment. You have been a quite the help as of late."

While not believing a single word that the woman had just said, Einar doubted it was anything harmful.

"Alright, where is it."

Unseen to the boy, Mei gave a small smile, "In the lab, where you usually go."

"Hmm." Einar nodded. "Thanks, Mei."

No other words were exchanged as the boy faded into an orange rimmed portal.

Next stop, Japan. Things had just become personal.

* * *

The first thing that Einar noticed upon exit from his little tear in space was how cold it was.

Upon further inspection it made sense, given the snow and frost that hung in even the air itself. The peaks of an ancient Japanese palace coated with a thick layer of frozen water.

Even the blinding rays of the afternoon sun did nothing to warm the area underneath it.

The boy walked forewords, the snow beneath his greaves crunched.

Mei's "gift" as she had called it, turned out to be a pair of Solium gauntlets and greaves. They were a dark grey with a pale gold border, nothing terribly gaudy but they still looked to be of high quality as they shone with the reflection of the sun's light.

They were perhaps the only kind of armor that Einar would wear. Full plate would slow him down to an unreasonable level but what he had would at least allow him to use him arms and legs as shields of sorts, due to the Honkai resistant properties of Solium.

A voice echoed throughout the structure, "You certainly took your time."

A young girl hopped down from her perch atop one of the roofs of the building. Colorless white hair and icy blue eyes, the 5th Herrscher without a doubt.

The boy spared nary a word for the girl, opting instead to launch a volley of sword at her.

The girl laughed as she summoned a cocoon of ice to block the blades, "I do hope you didn't expect that to hit me?"

Her haughty attitude was a far cry from that of the copies that the boy had fought. _Faking a personality to fool me? Seems to be smarter than I gave her credit for, _Einar thought, mildly impressed.

His attack, however, had not yet finished. The girl could no longer move due to the ice prison she had fashioned to block the sharpened metal.

With a flash of light and a burst of heat the winter shell had shattered, the Herrscher skidding away from her attacker.

The boy had created a flame within the swords that as he fed with Honkai energy, reached its breaking point and exploded in a blaze of flame and metal shards.

The girl smirked, "Now that's more like it."

She summoned a column of ice to propel herself towards the boy, a volley of frost following her in her wake.

Claws of solid ice had been crafted onto her hands as she slashed at Einar. He parried the blow and summoned a blast of wind to her into the sky.

A portal appeared behind her as she was sent straight upwards instead of her diagonal trajectory.

Einar extended an arm and then slammed it into the ground as the Herrscher was trying to create a ball of ice around her to soften her fall. As soon as the boy's hand reached the earth, the sphere fell upon the Earth with enough speed to crack it open like an egg.

The Herrscher emerged from the ensuing cloud of snow and dust with a few cuts, but nothing major.

She brushed off her shoulder as she spoke, "You're really pulling out all of the stops aren't you?"

Einar spoke for the first time during the fight, "Stop taunting me and fight." He readied his blade wreathed in tongues of tangerine flames.

"_You_ might be trying to kill me, but _I'm _not. And right now, you're all alone in the middle of an abandoned country." She stretched her arms outwards to draw attention to the surrounding area.

However, Einar was paying no heed to her speech and took this opportunity. He lunged towards her at a blistering speed, one no human could hope to match. A small burst of wind tore through the nearby structures.

It was parried rather splendidly.

A large icicle had sprouted from the ground, intercepting his blade well before it struck its mark.

_A clash of metal resounded._

_A boy grunted in frustration, "I can't hit you."_

_His opponent, an older man, spoke, "If you can't hit me the first time, then keep hitting. Remember, never stop moving until you target is dead."_

The boy grunted in frustration and let go of his blade. He quickly kicked on the handle and sent it hurtling towards the Herrscher where it burst into fire as soon as it neared her.

The girl held a shield she had created, before throwing it at the boy. It gained a number of spikes on its surface as a multitude of icy pillars came rushing towards Einar.

The ground gained a translucent blue hue as a small cube knocked the shield out of the air as Einar summoned several blades to block the path of the other objects. As the ice impacted his hastily constructed shield, he hardened the wind in front of him before detonating the blades in front of him.

The force of the explosion sent him flying, right at the Herrscher.

The was lifted off the ground before it flew at Einar like a cloud of iron dust. He burned it away before striking at the girl with his blade. She jumped backwards in the nick of time, the sword barely missing her abdomen.

The boy, however, took his left arm and swung it at her as well. A small blue cube flew at her from his palm, coated in flame.

Not able to move in the air quickly enough she was truck through her thigh by the object.

_Thud._

_The sound of a dull impact could be heard resounded throughout a clearing of trees._

_A small metal star had impacted a tree after being thrown by a young boy dressed in ornate robes._

_Another figure, dressed in form fitting clothing with a sword slung across his back, made his presence know the the boy._

_"What are you doing Takeru?"_

_The boy looked up at the older male, "I'm practicing my shuriken throws. Father said that I needed to practice."_

_Einar contemplated for a moment, "Would you mind if I joined?"_

_The boy looked delighted at the prospect, "Of course not! I just hope it doesnt go as poorly as your archery lessons."_

_Scowling, Einar picked up a small pointed piece of metal and threw it at the tree._

As they both landed into a roll, they locked gazes while the took a few heavy breaths.

"Yes, yes YES! This is what I wanted, a fight with you at your fullest! To feel to rush of combat as we put our lives on the line in a struggle for our ideals!" The Herrscher passionately yelled out between quick breaths.

She continued, "And you love this as well don't you? After all, what else can you do but kill."

Einar remained silent as he propped himself up on his blade. Saying anything would only dig his own grave even deeper.

"You don't have to say anything. I already know you better than anyone else, you have little care for the ones you do not know. The enemy is simply a bunch of faceless soldiers, worth nothing to you."

The boy interrupted, "I would hardly consider you a faceless soldier."

The girl of ice smiled, "Exactly. And now you have one more reason to hesitate in the defense of humanity."

Standing up with labored gasps Einar asked, "What's your name?"

"Fuyu." Was the response. It wasn't said in her normal arrogant tone but one of fondness and affection.

"Okay then, Fuyu, since you seem to share so much in common with a certain someone, let me ask you this; would you side with someone who wanted to kill me?"

The woman growled out her response, "Absolutely not!" Realization dawned on her face after she spoke.

Einar nodded, "You see then, I can't help or even remain impartial to something like this."

The respite now over the Herrscher of Ice, Fuyu, stood up, "Then I guess I just have to take you by force."

"You could just retreat."

Fuyu stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, "You would let me?" She asked incredulously.

He frowned, "You make it seem as though I like killing young girls."

After calming down she shook her head and said, "No, I can't retreat. After revealing my powers and failing to obtain you, I would prove myself rather useless."

"I see."

No more words were exchanged.

The girl lunged at Einar icy claws outstretched. He exerted his own control over ice and forced her arms out of his way by a small margin and ducked under her arm and spun around to bring his blade up against her limb.

Red hung in the air for a moment, as though time itself sought to prevent it from staining the snow, before crashing down to the dirt.

The girl clutched her arm in pain before vanishing from view.

Einar torn around frantically to search for the Herrscher. Too late as he was pierced through his stomach with a pale blue sword.

A voice whispered in his ear, "You assumed I could only freeze physical objects."

Though coughing blood, Einar smirked, "And you assumed I was still sane."

_A roar echoed throughout a verdant forest._

_Two boys could be seen running from the source of the roar._

_The older boy yelled over the sound of crunching leaves, "Don't look!"_

_"At what?" Was the response from Takeru._

_His inquiry was soon answered as Einar took Takeru's form in his grasp and leapt off a cliff side to their side. The winds forced the young boy's eyes shut as the two fell._

_When he opened his eyes, they were floating just above the ground._

_Forgetting the danger that they had just faced, his eyes sparkled, "What was that?Can you do that again? What else can you do?"_

_He fired off question after question after witnessing the supernatural feat._

_Einar gave a small smile, "It's a secret."_

_The boy was too stunned by the display of emotion from his companion that he forgot to question the lackluster response._

_"Hey, hey! Do that again!"_

With his hand near the blade lodged in his gut, the boy used lighting on himself. His blood acted as a conductor and conveniently, Fuyu had some on her.

Her scream echoed throughout the area as electricity coursed through her veins. She released her grip on the icy blade and Einar fell to the ground.

He remembered a saying that an old friend of his used to say, _whenever lightning spreads its wings, fire heeds its call._

Turning on his back to face the wounded Herrscher, Einar spoke, "I'm sorry."

A raging blade of fire launched from his hands towards Fuyu. A single chocked breath escaped her mouth as it curled into a smile.

Embers and crimson droplets rained throughout the palace outskirts for a moment, melting snow and dyeing it the color of war.

Einar fell to his back and gazed at the fading signs of winter leave the clear blue skies of Japan.

"Maybe this isn't all bad..." He trailed off as the world disappeared into the void.

The other members of Fire Moth would later arrive on scene to find a sleeping boy and a small crystal that shone with a pale blue glow.

* * *

Einar "awoke" to a familiar white void. Only this time the throne was empty.

He started to turn around before a pair of hands covered his eyes.

"**Don't turn around just yet, okay?" **A voice giggled behind him.

Sighing in resignation, he said, "Fine, but please don't make me regret this."

"**You worry too much. It's not as though I'm going to pie at you, this time at least..." **Kaguya's voice quieted towards the end of her sentence.

"I still don't know where you got the idea to do that in the first place." Einar spoke while keeping his back turned.

"**Your siblings had said it was a good idea though?" **The girl stated.

As powerful and old as she was, Kaguya wasn't always the greatest at determining motive.

_Perhaps that's why we're in this situation to begin with, _Einar mussed.

"**Alright! You can turn around now." **The declaration pulled the boy from his thoughts.

As he faced Kaguya, he saw she held two small bands in her dainty hands. One was a dark grey metal with a neon blue outline to it. The other was a shining silver with an outline much the same as the other, one only orange instead of blue.

Both seemed to have a small inscription on the inside. Nothing long, more of a name than anything.

"Lua's Pledge and Chivalry's Vow?"

"**Yep! Since yours my knight, my ring is your vow and because of my name yours is my pledge." **Kaguya spoke with a tone of pride in her creations.

When Einar first met Kaguya, she didn't have a name. So, since her name reminded him of the moon, he named her after the princess who came from there. It seemed fitting at the time and she took to it, so Einar saw no reason to come up with a different one.

There was still the matter of why she had made these rings in the first place.

_She doesn't particularly care about humans, so I had thought that extended to their culture as well, _Einar thought, curious of his beloved's motive.

"Pretty sure I know why, but why do we need these?" Asked the curious boy.

Kaguya's expression made it clear that she thought the answer was obvious, **"To show that we're married of course."**

Einar brought a palm to his forehead, "Leave it to you to show up out of the blue to create beings of mass destruction and then think we were married."

"**We aren't?" **The girl asked, looking as though she had found out that existence itself was a lie.

The boy took a final look at the orange ring, "Well, it's not as though I have any objections. Though people usually get married after a few years of dating and not several millennia."

Einar placed the ring on his left ring finger, as one does in this situation, and felt a strange pressure in his head. It wasn't as though it was unpleasant, quite the opposite in fact, but still very noticeable .

"What was that?" The fact that Kaguya was unaware of the presence was frankly impossible.

She turned a bit sheepish, **"Aww, I was hoping to keep that a secret for now..."**

Einar waited for her to continue. Keeping secrets wasn't something Kaguya usually did, baring perhaps matters related to the annihilation of humanity but that made sense. And he had a feeling this was not related to that.

True to his belief Kaguya spoke up after a moment, **"It's so I can talk to you without the need of a Herrscher core."**

"Couldn't you already do that?"

She shook her head, "**Not if I didn't want to force you to inherit my will, like the other Herrschers."**

Einar filed away that tidbit of information for a later date and continued, "Not something I'm going to complain about then, so long as you don't use that to spy on my friends."

"**Why would I do that? It's not as though anything they make is dangerous."**

If that came from anyone other than his, new dubbed, wife, Einar would be highly doubtful. The difference between the Herrschers and Kaguya was a large one. The former were made into creatures of Honkai, of that he had no doubt, while the latter was always Honkai. She is the will of Honkai itself, which begs the question as to why she hasn't eradicated the human race already.

Shaking himself free of such thoughts for the moment, Einar took his wife in his arms.

The girl proceeded to embrace her inner tomato, **"W-w-what brought this on?"**

Not that she was complaining, but her husband wasn't exactly the most frequent in his displays of physical affection.

"It's just been a while. That's all."

To be more precise, sixty-two thousand years. For all the differences in ideals the two shared, they still loved each other and that was a long time to go without seeing on another. "Long" being a criminal understatement.

So, the two sat, content to simple enjoy the lost presence.

The victor of the war hinged on the fate of these two individuals. A normal human boy and the Gestalt Will of Ho-

"Yeah really interesting, but what does a crappy love story have to do with you?"

* * *

A teen sighed, this girl was quite rude sometimes, interrupting his heartfelt story like that.

"Because I was that boy and now I want to help you. With a condition of course."

A girl with snow white hair narrowed her eyes and asked in a steely voice, "What condition?"

"Stop interrupting the story!"

**Update: Just want to make my readers aware that I have added flashback scenes to the fight with Fuyu and a minor change in how the cameo at the end was handled. The decision to add this was thanks to the sagely advice of dragonngo. I agreed that the fight needed reason as to why the locale was important to Einar. I will finish the reasoning behind this in the next chapter, but I hope this makes the story more enjoyable. I did not change anything else, simply added details. This is so the story doesn't becoming confusing due to changed details in past chapters. I am aware that this chapter has its flaws. Thank you for your patience with my shenanigans!**

**Author's notes: "I'll get the next chapter out before Christmas." *sigh* If I could go back in time and smack myself I would. This chapter is now six days later than what I wanted it to be. SIX! I am extremely sorry, but well, Christmas sort of happened. I hope the size and quality was worth the wait, but we'll have to wait and see I suppose. Do feel free to send a PM about my stupidity. I deserve it.**

**But enough of my moaning, onto the chapter!**

**I packed a crap tone in here. I revealed Einar's age. Why is he so old? Well, it took 55,000 years for the world of Honkai Impact 3****rd**** to progress to where it has. With the help of technologies from the Old World!**

**Another thing I did was create a very different Herrscher. The third saw herself as a servant of God, the fourth saw herself as a girl in love, and the fifth saw herself as a warrior. Perhaps more of a general, but the point stands. I tried to make her highly intelligent, baiting Fire Moth into a false sense of security and have them send only Einar and then anger him by attacking a place dear to him. Not sure if I did that, but I tried. Her name means Winter in Japanese in anyone is curious. MiHoYo Named the Herrscher of Wind, Windy, so I think my name will suffice.**

**The fight scene was difficult to say the least. I don't want there to be a monologue during the fight, but I did want some details to be revealed. My compromise was a breather during the middle of the battle, which come to think of it, sounds even stupider now that I write that down. Either way I did have Einar show off a bit more off his powers and have him show that he can combine them. In what other ways is something that will pop up very soon so stay tuned.**

**Romance. I have no idea what I'm doing. One thing that I hate though is when the love interests skirt around each other for the entire series. That can work if it's the main gag but otherwise it's just tedious. In my feeble attempt to avoid that, I just had them get married. I would like to think that it makes sense given what information I have revealed. If not than never fear, you can either yell at me or wait until it pops up in the story, which might be sooner than you expect.**

**The last thing is the teaser of things to come at the end of the chapter. Let's simply say that someone who PM'd me said that he would bust out laughing if I had Kiana interrupt a flashback. While it might not have been exactly that I added this as it does hint at plans for the future. Keep this in mind though, Kiana was in the Old World as well as the new and the New World has two Kiana's. One is actually the 2****nd**** Herrscher, Sirin as K423, and the other is the real Kiana. So, is the Einar in the flashforward talking to the Old World Kiana or one of the two New World ones? Food for thought.**

**And so, 2019 comes to an end. It's kind of hard to believe that I started this thing all the way back in October on a whim and now I've got as much support from you guys as I have. Thank you all once again and Happy New Year! May your resolutions last more than three hours! (That's my personal record)**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	9. The Blood of Memories

The Blood of Memories

_Fire engulfed his vision._

_Smoke blotted out the stars as it danced its way skywards._

_A rugged man in tattered brown clothing stood over the corpse of a young boy with a red soaked silver blade._

"_Come on boys, hurry it up! We have to get everything out of here before someone notices we aren't soldiers!"_

_Many a man with a similar aesthetic could be seen taking elaborate jewelry and gold from the now empty house._

_Bandits._

_Not a terribly uncommon sight in a time of war. Bandits took advantage of the conflict to pillage. They embodied the true nature of man when no one was looking._

"_Too late." A gleaming silver blade pierced the back of the man would had just spoken._

_The swordsman took his foot and pushed the now dead man's body towards his companions as he tore his blade from its flesh._

_The other men stared at the boy for but a brief moment, stunned, before readying their own blades._

"_Hey kid, if you leave now then maybe we won't kill you." One of the men said, confidant in numbers._

_His friend continued, "Yeah, never said you would leave unharmed though."_

_The men laughed in sadistic humor._

_The boy's lips curled in disgust._

"'_Kid?'" He repeated with slight confusion in his tone. "No, you're the children."_

_A round of laughter came from the men._

"_Whatever you say, kid. We still outnumber you anyway."_

_The boy cocked his head to the side, "Could a dozen toddlers take down a full grown man?"_

_A man snarled in rage, "I'll kill you, you brat!"_

_He charged towards the boy._

_He didn't make it very far._

_The boy appeared in front of the man as swift as lightning. His blade looked as though it was made of molten metal as it impacted the man._

_The bandit vanished in a flash of orange embers. No body remained._

"_W-w-what wa-" One spoke in confusion before being cut off by a bolt of lightning landing on his torso._

_Einar held his arm extended in his direction. He had thrown his sword._

"_G-get me out of here!"_

"_Stand and fight you idiot!"_

"_I don't want to die!"_

_The bandits had a multitude of reactions._

_They didn't last long._

_Swords wreathed in flame and lightning rained from the sky. Ice and wind tore apart the ground itself._

_As soon as it had begun, it was over._

_The boy walked over to the young child on the ground. His body had long since gone cold, his skin pale as snow. Red had seeped into his clothes from a gash on his chest._

_Einar cradled the body of the boy in his arms, his hands almost entirely composed of golden dust, and wept. Not simply tears leaking from his eyes, but fat droplets falling to the dirt accompanied by heavy breaths through his nose._

_It was a pitiful sight._

_At times like these, Einar could almost understand the desire to destroy humanity. To eradicate the men that sought only to further their own goals with heinous acts. To rape, kill, and destroy for momentary pleasure._

_But, as those thoughts tried to consume him he glanced over at his sword. It was a simple silver bladed katana with a black wrapped red handle._

_The sword merely served as a reminder. A reminder of a meeting, a parting, and his resolve._

* * *

A boy stood next to a large ancient Japanese castle, his gaze was locked onto a small patch of grass in front of him. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the ground in front of him was ever so slightly raised, almost as though something was buried underneath.

'_Life is full of meetings and partings, you simply get to experience more than most.'_ The boy remembered the words spoken to him all those years ago.

"Easier said than done..."

The surrounding structures glistened in the sunlight, the red color of the wood becoming even more vibrant in the light. No sign of damages could be seen, either from fire, cold, or anything else. It looked as though it were made yesterday.

The obvious culprit would be Einar, but it was unlikely that he would ever take credit for such a meticulous restoration.

"What are you doing out here?" Asked a voice beside the boy.

"AAAHHHH!" Einar jumped away from the voice by several feet.

A girl with long dark navy hair stood next to where the boy was mere moments ago.

Hua simply raised an eyebrow in response, "I don't think all that was warranted."

"If you think that, then don't become a ninja in your spare time!" The boy yelled out.

"Weren't ninjas' assassins?"

"Well, yes. What's your point?"

The girl gave a blinding smile, "Then you would already be dead, right?"

"Stop saying such scary things with such a joyful smile!" Einar exclaimed while crossing his arms in an "x" shape.

Hua giggled in response.

With a look of shock, then contemplation, the boy spoke, "You know, you might be able to get a boyfriend if you act like this more often.

With the humor falling from her face, the girl brought a fist to her friend's head. Or at least tried to.

Einar hopped quickly to the side, "Woah! Don't try to hide your embarrassment with violence, this isn't a cliched anime."

"Why am I friends with you?"

"Because you were left awestruck by my heroic deeds?" The boy asked hopefully.

Refusing to answer, the girl shook her head.

She took a look at the area that surrounded them, "As beautiful as this place is, I would rather get back to base."

Einar acted hurt, "You mean you don't trust my ability to protect you?"

"Not even slightly."

"Geh!" The boy brought his hands to his heart in fake emotional pain.

Ignoring the pretend actor, Hua walked back towards the large aircraft that sat several dozen meters away. Looking up an seeing the vehicle, the anomaly wondered how he didn't notice that earlier.

"Wait," he spoke in confusion. "I can just teleport us there."

The girl immediately turned around and spoke, "Absolutely not. I have no desire to go through sickness inducing horror."

"Wait, have you even been through a portal before?" Einar questioned with a cock of his head. He couldn't remember any time he had taken her through his most convenient power.

"Once, when Mei claimed she needed my help." Hua shivered. "Never again will I agree to help with those tests."

She spoke with such disdain that Einar found it humorous, proving his skewed sense of humor.

"Well alright, I'll just go by myself then."

A hand immediately found his shoulder.

"Nope. If I had to suffer then so do you."

Einar chuckled nervously, "How about no?"

The girl just smiled.

Einar sighed, "Why does everyone love seeing me suffer."

"Because it's so entertaining."

"My suffering is amusing to you!?" The boy fell to all floors on the ground. The surrounding area darkened, and a single spotlight illuminated his form.

"Yep." Hua ignored the change in scenery and proceeded to drag the boy to the craft.

The question of what Einar was doing here in the first place was forgotten.

* * *

"You just want to win by any means necessary don't you?" A voiced spoke.

A boy who looked to be in his late teens was holding two white pistols. He stood at the opposing side of a large room to a girl with similarly styled gauntlets.

Silence met his inquiry.

"I see, you just don't want to admit it." Einar said with a nod, as though he had solved a great mystery.

A large golden "bullet" of Honkai energy was shot at the boy in response.

"What!? When could gloves do that? I want some of those!" Einar called out in slight envy.

"So that's how to use that." Was the calm tone of Hua.

The two were testing out the sacred relics, weapons made from fragments of Herrscher cores. They were all mainly white in color with orange lights on various parts of them and wing like designs. Einar thought they looked like angel weapons, whatever he meant by that.

Einar was currently using a pair of pistols, the 2nd Sacred Relic. They resembled a pair of revolvers more than any modern pistols. The bullets had tremendous stopping power, which would be nice if the boy had any aim at all.

Hua on the other hand was using two gauntlets, the 1st Sacred Relic. They looked like medieval plated gauntlets with short "wings" that appeared from the sides furthest from the girl's body. The main feature of the weapon was its ability to fire condensed projectiles from the palm at the user's whim.

"I still think it's unfair that you get to use a weapon familiar to you, while I have to become a pirate!" Einar could throw objects with fair accuracy at closer distances, but he was absolutely hopeless with any sort of gun.

"Don't worry, its only because these are the first two that we're using them right now."

"Okay, now say that again without smiling maniacally!"

According to Mei, the reason that the weapons were numbered was because they had "bonded" to a certain Herrscher's crystal. Even after half an hour of explanations, Einar was still confused as to what that meant but he just decided it wasn't that important.

Hua continued her assault, closing the distance between them.

Einar held his pistols close together aiming forward and fired...straight into a portal.

Several tears in space appeared around the girl as Einar kept pulling the two triggers. Bullets came raining in a thunderous hailstorm as Hua tried to dodge.

"You can't use your powers when sparing!" She yelled.

"We never said that applied to this though!" The boy shouted back his excuse for his petty act. He still had an undefeated record he needed to keep intact.

However, Hua placed her palms on the ground and a translucent golden orb appeared around her.

"Oh, come on! Those things are just becoming a plot device at this point!" The petty combatant cried in indignation.

Ignoring the strange words vocalized by her companion, Hua quickly closed the distance between the two.

The teen brought a gauntlet towards Einar's upper chest before it was deflected by the boy using the handle of a pistol. Hua almost instantly followed the parry by attacking with her other armored arm.

Einar utilized the second pistol's barrel to block the strike. This placed the barrel in front of Hua's chest. If he was using a single sword he might have needed to handle that situation a bit differently, but he wasn't complaining.

There was no hesitation as the boy pulled the trigger.

Hua went flying across the room from the strength and closeness of the impact. While Einar had been blunting the Honkai energy that he fired, preventing it from piercing her skin, no one enjoyed having a sledgehammer impact their torso.

Einar gave a small pump of his fist as he reveled in his victory. After indulging in his childishness, the boy made his way over to Hua to make sure she was okay.

"You still alive?" He asked while poking his friend in the cheek.

"Ugh...remind me never to let you use guns ever again." The girl groaned as she sat up from her place on the ground.

A small rectangle suddenly opened up in the side of the room. A young woman with raven hair walked through.

"That's enough for today, we'll continue this at a later date."

The boy seemed mortified, "We have to do this again!?"

"I thought you liked fighting?" Mei asked.

"I do, with my own weapons. Using something else is like being forced to use a certain weapon for a quest." He shuddered as though he was remembering bitter memories.

Ignoring the boy, as usual, Mei questioned the other combatant, "How did you like the Sacred Relic?"

"You're going to ignore me!?"

Hua gave her opinion, "The bullet that the gauntlets can fire has a fair bit of recoil, that would need some getting used to."

"Oh, I see how it is. Just pretending I don't exist, huh? Fine, two can play that game." The boy crossed him arms and legs as he sat on the floor.

The scientist seemed to agree, "I can't put any recoil dampeners on it though due to that nature of its firing mechanism."

"That makes sense, but could you use the Honkai to do something about it? It might decrease the power of the projectile, but it would be worth it in my opinion."

Meanwhile, Einar was creating horrible music with the crackle of lightning, illuminating his face.

It was hard to tell who was younger sometimes.

* * *

Einar sat in a dark room on a velvet chair, his legs crossed and his hands held together.

"Do you know why I have called you two here today?"

He spoke to a dark haired girl and a white haired boy on a small couch opposite of him.

"Because you think yourself some sort of love guru?" Kevin spoke his honest feelings.

"Wrong! Because I bet that two would have done something by now!"

Einar had stalk-observed his two friends on occasion to make sure nothing catastrophic happened. But, as it turned out, nothing at all happened! No brush of their hands or staring into the other's eyes.

This was egregious! Some kind of romantic event should have occurred by now, he had a small fortune riding on it!

Mei spoke up in confusion, "And this a problem, how? It's not as though we have all day to ourselves. Unlike you we do have responsibilities."

"First, ouch. Second, that is precisely why I have got you both the day off. Don't worry, I got clearance from Yasuhiro." The anomaly waved his hands to brush away their concerns. It didn't work.

"Why would he agr-" Kevin started.

"Oh my, would you look at the time! I have to go now, bye!"

The boy stopped in the doorway for a moment. The door creaked open to reveal a downpour of rain inside the hallway. Lightning cracked and luminated his form.

"Forget not your hearts, lest my wallet suffer the price!" His speech was needlessly dramatic and reverberated throughout the room like a horror film.

He passed through the door and the noise of falling rain stopped. A moment later a small yelp could be heard followed by angry yelling.

Silence filled the room for a few moments as the two Fire Moth members had to process the situation that had just occurred.

A sigh escaped the young man's lips, "Are we sure he's the same person on the battlefield?"

"I'm sure...somehow."

The conversation went quite after that curt answer.

"It's not often we get to talk like this." Kevin stated.

"Hmm." Mei hummed in agreement. "We both have our responsibilities after all."

Kevin adopted a thoughtful expression, "It's hard to believe that a mere two years ago was the fight against the 3rd Herrscher."

"The beginning of this circumstance." Mei said, reflecting on the events that had preceded this moment.

"My feelings haven't changed, you know?" Kevin said with conviction. "While I can't say I appreciate all of his meddling, I am glad that Einar gave us this moment."

Those words had Mei a bit pink, "What brought this on? You haven't mentioned anything of this sort since we came to Fire Moth."

"It's...something Einar said. I can't say with nearly as much conviction as he can that I'll survive or stay the same. It's made me want to say something I didn't plan on."

He continued, "I came with you to Fire Moth. I didn't come to save humanity or anything else, I came because that was what you wanted."

He stood up and took Mei's hand, "So, do whatever you want with me. If it's what you want then I'll always be willing."

Now Mei was a vibrant red, "There you go again, always saying whatever you want without a care."

She smiled, "I'll hold you to those words, I might need someone for something extraordinarily dangerous after all."

The albino teen grinned, "I'll be here then. Now come on let's go somewhere else, we have an entire day off, it would be a waste to spend it in this room the entire time."

Kevin extended his hand and Mei took hold of it.

A promise was made and only those made in sincerity have consequences. Only time would tell of what they were.

But for now, enjoy the fleeting moments of youth. It won't return.

* * *

Einar walked down the steel hallways, the ghostly figure of a pale girl floated next to him.

"You know, this is not what I expected at all." He said.

Kaguya smiled, "Not to worry! I can't see anything but you!"

"While I don't think that only applies to this situation, that's not what I was referring to."

The girl cocked her head to the side. Einar blushed, why was it that everything she did was so adorable?

He expanded upon his comment after calming down, "I did not expect this method of communication, is all."

"Well we can't use the same method too often, that would bore the readers."

The boy gave her a dry look, "Stop breaking the 4th wall, this isn't Gin*ama."

The girl pouted, puffing her cheeks out like a chipmunk's.

Any passing soldier was left confused as their resident Herrscher killer was holding a conversation with thin air. Any opinion about his sanity was solidified that day by the rumor mill.

Eventually, Einar came across Hua and Himeko in the mess hall.

They seemed to be having a very engaging discussion from the looks of it.

Hua sighed in exasperation, "Captain, for the last time, you can't drink while on duty!"

"You expect me to eat my meal without a beer? I refuse." Himeko stated with another swig of alcohol.

Okay, maybe not engaging in the right way.

Kaguya took a glance at Hua and Himeko.

She seemed content after gazing at the younger girl but alarmed after she gazed at his captain.

"Einar, you have to get away from her! She'll try and bewitch you with her womanly charm!"

The boy raised a brow, "I though you could only see me?"

She spoke nervously, "Did I? I don't remember. But don't worry, I can only see what you see!"

Einar sighed, "Note to self; never look out the windows."

He couldn't have Kaguya finding out where Fire Moth HQ was after all. That would be the equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb onto a snail, or, put simply, overkill.

After that thought, the boy made his way to get some food before slipping away from the mess hall unnoticed, he didn't want to intrude on his squad-mates' conversation. He wasn't _that _tactless...probably.

Deciding to become a stereotypical protagonist made his way to the open hanger bay. Granted, it wasn't exactly the roof of a high school, it would do.

As he finished his meal, as if on cue, Yasuhiro strolled up to the boy.

He spoke with that typical smile and cheerful tone, "How are you today Einar, your wounds from the battle heal alright?"

Sometimes Einar felt as though this man's very existence was made to spite him. Not because he was rude or annoying, quite the contrary in fact, but because he seemed to contradict every single fact that the boy knew about the leaders of secret organizations that fought for humanity's future.

Of course, he meant knowledge from video games.

_Yasuhiro should be a grief stricken master mind that wants to revive his wife or daughter, not a man whose wife is alive and has two sons! He should be diabolical and cunning, not observant and wise! _Einar yelled in his mind, once again proving his tendencies to get worked up over the oddest of circumstances.

No evidence of this inner turmoil could be seen on the boy's face, "I'm great actually! The gaping hole in my chest is gone and I can finally fell warmth again!"

He gave cheerful smile in response to the question, not what one might expect from a person who had such grave injuries.

Yasuhiro's expression never faltered, "Yes, while I am extraordinarily impressed with your healing abilities I was referring to perhaps another kind of pain."

Einar furrowed his brow in what seemed to be genuine confusion, "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"I was informed of your decision to leave without any kind of support against the 5th Herrscher."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish grin, "Yeah, not my smartest move I agree."

"I would concur, but that would not be the point I'm trying to make. You left for this Herrscher. You never appeared against the first two Herrschers and only got involved with the 3rd through sheer happenstance. The 4th destroyed an entire city full of people and yet only the most recent of attacks affected you, the one where no life was at stake except your own."

Einar face was downcast, drowning in thoughts, wondering how to respond. However, before he could, the man in the suit continued.

"I'm not telling you to open up to me, I understand we don't have the most personal of relationships, but there are people that would at least listen."

The boy seemed to snap at that, "Listen? Would you listen to a monster if he had words to speak? Would you listen to a Herrscher is she desired it?

He gripped the steel railing on the platform, "No, because they have little right to do so, because their atrocities cannot be forgiven under an circumstance."

The older man retained his calm tone, "I would hardly consider you a monster."

"And I would hardly consider the Honkai as much either."

This prompted a small reaction from the man, a slight widening of the eyes, "Then what would you consider the Honkai?"

The words escaped into the empty air. The wind picked up, howling into the silence.

After a moment, Einar spoke, "A girl. One who's only companion failed her."

Yasuhiro remained silent. He understood that the words this boy spoke, were the crux of his actions and even beliefs.

"Then, would you say that this companion bears the responsibility to correct this wrong?" The man questioned.

"I would."

Yasuhiro smiled, a normal smile that matched his humble demeanor, "Ah, but if the companion failed alone, then why would he succeed alone this time?"

Einar widened his eyes, before turning to face the ocean, not speaking a word.

Through it all, the man smiled on. He doubted his words would come to make an impact next week, next month, or even the next few years, but he was certain that he planted the seeds for change.

Yasuhiro chuckled, it reminded him of his youth, when he first met a dazzling young woman.

'_No plan survives enemy contact' as they say, so why then do we need a plan? _The man mussed in his thoughts.

'The power of friendship' certainly didn't exist and 'strength in numbers' was too broad, but companions gave one a reason to fight and that makes all the difference.

_Einar, the 'lone warrior' hmm? I do wonder if he can escape the fate his name dictates._

With one final rumination, Yasuhiro left, leaving a boy to his thoughts.

The seeds were planted yes, but who would water them? Who would sustain and allow them to grow?

Time tells all, and just as it waits for no one, it pushes the story of life ever foreword.

And through it all, a pale girl watches.

**Author's notes: The first update of 2020! I hope all of you fabulous people have had a great year that is not filled with the utter despair that is my scholastic endeavors!**

**Onto the chapter, however. Not much to say honestly, I wanted a bit of reprieve for the constant fighting and some more character development. I also tried my hand at some more romance, which I stink at, but I'm working on that.**

**The most important thing that I need to mention is the flashback. I made it so that you guys would understand the significance of the last Herrscher battle. I did add some small scenes into the combat sequence of the last chapter, but it's not necessary to go back and read that to understand what's going on. I will have another flashback in the next chapter, but it will be very different than what I've shown so far, so stay tuned!**

**The only other thing of note was the meaning of Einar's name. All of my OC's (baring Yasuhiro) have a meaning to their name that correlates with their character. For the Herrschers that can be simple but for Einar and Kaguya it's a lot more complex. Einar is Nordic, "Ein" meaning "alone" and "arr" meaning warrior. I have eluded to Kaguya's name coming from the Japanese folktale, "Princess Kaguya" but only the most avid of Honkai lore masters will have any clue as to the connection. I hope. I don't want to make everything too obvious, as I have a habit of doing.**

**Other than that, I hope you guys have had a wonderful new year!**

**Sayonara,**

**the Slow White Guy**


	10. That Which Heralds Death

That Which Heralds Death

_Buildings composed of shimmering glass rose into the azure skies. The blaring sounds of horns could be heard amongst the squeal of wheels and conversations between people of all types._

_Two figures could be seen walking through the large crowd, the lifeless gray of the ground beneath their feat stretching forever onwards._

_One of the figures was a young male, he had dark brown hair that was lazily swept to the side and lightning blue eyes that seemed to almost shine in the light._

_The other figure was a girl. While her companion was certainly not ugly, he could not be considered the most physically appealing of males. The girl on the other hand, was an almost ethereal beauty. Her hair was like a coat of snow and her eyes were that of molten gold. She should have been the object of every passerby's thoughts, but she was not._

_The boy did not question it however, he had grown used to strange events as a result of the girl, in fact, this was not even the oddest of occurrences that had transpired._

_Contrary to the boy's calm pace and expression, the girl gazed at every passing object as though it were the grandest thing she had ever witnessed. He childlike awe elicited a chuckle from the boy._

_The girl pouted, an adorable puff of her cheeks, "Stop laughing at me!"_

_The boy simply continued, "Aww, but it's so much fun to see your reactions..."_

_Stepping back a bit in embarrassment, the girl stuttered, "I-I won't let you!"_

_She stomped her foot in indignation, trying to convince herself more than the boy in front of her._

_The boy held his hands over his heart, as though he had been struck. He then took his companion in his arms and lifted her off her feet._

"_Your so adorable!" He proclaimed while spinning in a circle with the girl and laughing._

_The girl attempted to wiggle out of his grasp, "Stop it, I'm not a teddy bear!"_

_After seeing that he would not agree to her demands, the girl vanished from his grasp with a flash of purple light._

_The boy held up his now empty arms, "Oh come on, that's not fair."_

"_Your one to talk!"_

_Throughout this entire exchange, the people around the young couple ignored the two's actions, no matter how supernatural it might have been._

_The boy figured that his companion probably wasn't doing anything intentionally, much like that time she set his hair on fire. Nearly all of what she did was purely subconscious on her part. She had claimed to him before that it wasn't like it felt any different from walking or breathing, further muddling the boy's perception of her nature. She was many things, but certainly not human._

_Pushing aside his thoughts for now, the boy spoke, "Alright alright, then how about we go get something to eat?"_

_He smiled as his friend reacted exactly as he expected._

"_Really! Let's go get some ice cream!" She cried out in joy at the prospect of consuming the delicious dessert._

_The boy sighed, sometimes he wondered how she had survived before they met, "You can't eat ice cream for lunch. How about we get some after food."_

_The girl spoke in a dry tone, "Ice cream is food."_

_She crossed her arms in an attempt to further her point._

_Despite himself, the boy smiled. Her flaws were certainly there, but he could accept them as long as she remained the same._

_How bad could they be, right?_

* * *

"Ughh..."

A groan echoed throughout an empty room.

On the bed in a corner of the space, a large lump was protruding from the center of the blankets.

With groggy eyes, Einar pulled his sheets from his face.

He was met with a pair of golden eyes.

Einar gazed at them for a moment. Eventually, the owner of the eyes became red with embarrassment.

The boy pulled the sheets back over his face.

"Wait, You can't go back to sleep! You were supposed to become energized after seeing my first thing in the morning!" The pawed uselessly at the blankets, she was unable to interact with anything due to her method of appearance.

"Yes, I can. Watch me."

"Nope, not happening! I'll start singing if you don't get up!"

Einar immediately bolted upwards in terror.

He loved Kaguya, but her singing was awful. She has a pleasing voice, but she just might be tone deaf. It would also seem that Kaguya was aware of her own flaws as well and used them to threaten him.

They had a complicated relationship.

And, now that she could communicate with him whenever she wanted, due to their rings, he couldn't escape her "music".

The boy groaned, "Fine, I'll get up..."

You would think that after sixty-two thousand years of life, Einar would be able to get up in the morning with relative effectiveness. You would be wrong of course, not even a few dozen millennia could change ones sleeping habits. If anything, it only made them worse.

"Yay! Then let's go paint the town red!" Kaguya spoke such worrisome words in a cheerful tone.

"Where did you even learn that phrase?" Einar spoke in a dry tone.

The boy was ignored as Kaguya promptly dragged him off the bed. Apparently she could touch him. Why was it that he seemed to be the exception to every rule that his wife had placed upon her, was the author just that lazy?

With those thoughts swimming in his mind, Einar continued, "Alright, but before that I have something to do first."

The boy's lips curved upwards into a smile.

* * *

A Fire Moth soldier made his way through the base.

He woke up early to train. Just because there hadn't been any Honkai to fight, didn't mean he could shirk on his duty to train his body to battle for humanity.

Of course, this task also made him rather hungry.

So, as the soldier made his way to the mess hall, he had an odd sense of foreboding. A cold chill that snuck up the back of his neck as he reached the door that separated him from his breakfast.

His fears came to fruition as he entered the mess hall.

Immediately, his body left the ground in a slow accession as he flailed about in momentary surprise.

He looked around the room as he spun slowly, freed from the effects of gravity. Everything in the room that was not nailed down floated through the room. Chairs, tables, food, and even beverages were held in midair as it moved about aimlessly in the air.

The man sighed, he wasn't even surprised. Stuff like this had happened before during his time at Fire Moth.

The boy, Einar he remembered, seemed to enjoy these types of activities. Certainly not what he would expect from someone who was dubbed the "Herrscher Killer" by the members of Fire Moth.

He extended his arms and stretched his legs as he "swam" in the air.

He was hungry and a little thing like no gravity was not going to block him from eating.

At least, seeing some of the higher ups' reactions would be good entertainment.

* * *

Einar was, rather smartly, not at Fire Moth HQ. He certainly wasn't going to stick around and wait to be yelled at.

Which is also why he had placed a camera in the corner of the room. That would be fun to watch later.

No, Einar was currently roaming the grey cement walkways of a large metropolitan city. The Honkai had all but wiped out any smaller cities, leaving only a sci-fi lover's utopia.

In addition to the towering glass buildings and the bustling pedestrians, mechanical creations of all sizes roamed the streets. Most were either for policing the populace or domestic acts, but there were also a few personal ones as well.

Rectangles of light were suspended in the air next to buildings, advertising their products and bridges of luminescent color connected various structures to each other.

_If only flying cars existed and then this would be perfect. _Was the thought passing through Einar's mind.

Even compared to when he was born, technology had not advanced this much. Although, as convenient as it was, he did find that he preferred the less restrictive cultures of older times. Forging documentation to pass security checkpoints was a pain, one that Fire Moth certainly helped with. He was a legitimate member after all, didn't need to fake that.

"Ugh, why do humans find the need to corrupt everything they see?" A voice beside him bemoaned in disgust.

Predictably, his wife was far less enthused about the current times than even he was.

Einar gave a chuckle at that, "Well, not all of us have reality bending powers. This 'corruption', as you put it, is rather convenient to most people."

Kaguya brushed of his reasoning, "This is why we need to eradicate the human race."

"That's a rather whimsical reason."

The boy was unperturbed. His wife threatened the extinction of humanity in nearly every conversation, it didn't change much at this point.

He changed the subject, "How about we go and see some of the more entertaining elements of human culture?"

She gazed at him for a moment, before sighing, "Fine, if we must." The girl relented only when Einar pulled out the puppy dog eyes.

Perhaps the sole consensus of the human race would be that Einar looks horrifying with puppy dog eyes. And yet, Kaguya finds it to be adorable every time, without fail.

Love does strange things to the minds of those involved.

And on that note, the two made their way through the city. The boy planned to take them to an arcade, because if there was one thing that all girls would love, it would be video games.

No one should ever take dating advice from this idiot. This is why the person that married him wants to destroy the human race.

* * *

"Ugh!"

A grunt resounded through the large empty room as a dull metal blade impacted the flesh of a teen girl.

A fairly common sight in Fire Moth HQ was unfolding, Himeko beating up her subordinates in the name of "training".

Hua, clad with her usual gauntlets, once again found herself losing against her captain. The latter's sword impacting her with a swiftness that should be impossible for its size. Of course, impossibility was something she had grown to accept over the last few years, mainly from Einar though.

A male's voice resounded throughout the room, "This is going nowhere fast Himeko. Try as you might, she doesn't understand what she needs to do, or what she's doing wrong for that matter."

The captain was a swordsman after all, one who wielded a greatsword at that. Comparing Hua's martial arts to that was like comparing a great white shark to a lion. They're both amazing predators, just in vastly different ways from each other.

The crimson-haired woman whined in response, "Well, I don't see you giving her any pointers."

Kevin sighed, it was times like these that he questioned Einar's faith in this woman. Granted, it was his fault that the teen was here in the first place.

"_You could train them better than I ever could!" _Kevin remembered scathingly. _He just didn't want to have to deal with these two on his day off, the jerk._

They say that you mature with age, apparently no one told Einar that as he still has the mentality of a middle schooler.

He broke from his thoughts to respond to the woman in front of him, "I thought that you, and I quote, 'have everything under control'?"

A large slab of metal brushed past the now ducking form of the Kaslana. He was beginning to understand why Einar enjoyed pushing people's buttons so often, it was rather fun.

As soon as that thought crossed his mind a chill ran down his neck. Maybe he shouldn't be spending so much time around the old man after all, ability to fact check legends aside.

Shaking his head of such thoughts, he spoke, "Then teach Hua sword skills."

Himeko repressed a snort, then spoke slowly, as if to a child, "Kevin, Hua wants to learn how to fight with her fists, not a sword."

The beer loving woman had placed a hand on the younger boy, who simply wore a blank expression.

A moment of silence passed. A tumble weed somehow spontaneously appeared in the background.

"I know that, I haven't been sleeping for the last few hours." Kevin spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.

Hua, seeking to prevent her two comrades from killing each other, spoke up, "Then why do you think I need to learn how to use a sword?"

She could understand the opposite. Learning martial arts would be convenient if one ever lost their sword during combat after all, but she could not understand the reverse being of much use.

Instead of answering their question directly, Kevin posed an inquiry of his own, "How do you take down a Honkai Templar then?"

A Honkai Templar was, rather obviously, a variation of Honkai beast. They were unique in the fact that they are the only know Honkai being to carry weapons, large lances and shields to be precise. They were particularly famed for both their precision with their weapon of choice and their sturdy defenses, which begs the question of how to counter that.

In a rare moment of candidness, Himeko spoke up, "Either wait until they strike, so you can hit their exposed flank, or hit them from behind."

Kevin smiled, "Exactly."

Seeing that he wasn't going to continue, Hua asked, "But what does this have to do with me learning to using a sword?"

"Everything, and that's no exaggeration."

Seeing the confusion of the two's faces he expanded, "It might not be conscious, but by knowing how to combat a templar, you learn how they fight. You learn what they can and can't do and how to exploit that." The albino teen said.

What Himeko said was accurate, but there are even more ways to fight templars. In addition to striking behind them, where they can't block it, you could simply bypass its shield. Not an easy feat but possible with either electricity or a piercing projectile, such as a large caliber bullet or laser beam.

The point is that, by learning how the templars operate, you can also find out what they can't do, and what better to do that then to put yourself in the shows of the templar, or any other foe you might encounter.

"For example, if you learn swordsmanship, then you can understand for yourself how it functions in a way that can be exploited." Kevin said to Hua. "Of course, you also need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your own weapon."

The teen girl posed a question, "And what would those be for martial arts?"

"Well, obviously there's a wide variety of practices, but in contrast to the sword it would be speed and range."

"I hope you're not trying to say that martial artists have superior range to swordsmen." Himeko interjected.

The young man shook his head, "Just the opposite in fact, and that would be the point. For all of the truth in the knowledge that swords are a close combat weapon, they can't function well too close to their target. They are longer and require more distance to properly complete their actions."

Kevin used a training sword on a dummy in various distances to illustrate his point and then finished by showing how close he could be with his fists.

"And then for speed?" Hua asked.

Himeko at this point had caught on, she wasn't one of Fire Moth's greatest fighters because of her lack of dating prospects.

"And since they are a part of your body, you don't have to swing them to get enough force behind the blow and it isn't as easily telegraphed."

Kevin grinned, his teeth as white as his hair, "Bingo. Now try and use that in another match."

As he watched the two fight he wondered if this was why Mei tried to teach him about quantum science, it was nice to have someone understand what you were teaching them. Too bad he could never understand what Mei was talking about, he just smiled and nodded.

_Well, Einar was right about one thing, even if you don't understand a word, just listening makes all the difference, _Kevin thought to himself, remembering some advice that his friend had very explicitly told him.

_Guess even someone like Einar can learn a thing or two about women after sixty-two thousand years._

* * *

"Achoo!"

A sneeze echoed out amongst the noise of frolicking arcade goers.

_Someone must be talking about me, _Einar mussed. Due to his regeneration, he couldn't get sick so that was the only explanation.

The ethereal girl next to him seemed unperturbed, "Come on! We need to whole set!"

The "Herrscher Killer" and "The Will of Honkai" were playing a crane game. To be more accurate, Einar was simply getting what Kaguya wanted him to. He never would have pegged her for a completionist, but he supposed it wasn't the strangest revelation he'd had about his wife in his lifetime.

"Hurry up, we need the Nyarlathotep plush!" Kaguya spoke in anticipation.

Yep, the crane game they were playing was for monstrous Cthulhu abominations. What had his life come to?

Thankfully, or perhaps unthankfully depending on how you look at it, crane game were absurdly easy for Einar. He could curve space in the appropriate direction, create a magnetic effect with electromagnetic waves, use the wind to move the plush, or even change the gravity of the item itself to fall in a different direction.

Yes, the amount of way that the superpowered human could cheat at a children's game was astounding.

The girl's mouth gaped, "Einar! They have Hastur too! We have to add it to the collection!"

Despite himself, the boy smiled. This was what he fought for, the smile of this girl.

_Maybe now she'll learn that humans can make some good things too, _Einar chuckle to himself.

After all, seeing the greatest threat to humanity pin her face to the glass of an arcade crane game was quite the amusing sight.

Maybe Einar isn't so bad at dating advice after all.

...

Yeah, I don't believe that either.

* * *

Two figures could be seen panting on the floor of a colorless room.

One with grey-blue hair and the other with deep, blood red locks.

A teen boy stood off to the side before slowly walking towards the two.

"Good job Hua, you actually got a few hits in this time."

The girl's gulps of air accented her response, "I...hate...you..."

The white haired devil simply smiled in response.

"I need a beer..." The crimson woman groaned.

Hua pushed herself off the ground, her limbs aching from exertion, "A beer is not the answer to all of life's problems, captain."

"Of course, it is!" Himeko brought herself to a seated position, "But Kevin, where did you learn how to fight with a sword, I though you started using your 'tae-gun-do' or whatever you called it?"

The boy let of a breath of exasperation, "It's called 'gun kata' and still use it. I was simply talking to Einar a while back and he mentioned that knowing how an enemy fights is quite the handy ability to use consciously."

He continued with a bit of pride in his voice, "I've even gotten a few good hits in on him during some spars. Probably just because he had never fought against something like this before, since he seems to be getting a lot better at defending against it."

The teen finished with a sort of somber resignation, "But I mean, he's sixty-two thousand years old, so what could I do?"

The two young women froze. They didn't even dare to breathe for a moment.

The silence was shattered quickly thereafter.

""What!?""

The soldiers shouted in shock.

Kevin simply flashed a knowing smile, "Yeah, he told me before the last Herrscher fight. He didn't seem like he wanted to keep it a secret though so I thought it would be okay to share."

A blatant lie. He had mostly likely expected Kevin to keep it a secret, but he also didn't ever say those words. Kevin could finally get revenge on his friend for his endless pranks, he did, after all, have to eat both breakfast and lunch today in zero gravity.

Both of the women had very different thoughts on the matter of Einar's age, however.

Hua was busy putting together the pieces of the puzzle that was her companion, realizing why he acted so lost in thought every now and again. He must have seen some pretty horrific things over the years.

Meanwhile, Himeko was wondering why the boy never offered to go drinking with her. She would've promised not to try and seduce anyone if he went with her...unless they were rich, then all bets were off.

And she said as much aloud, "We need to go drinking together then!"

Both Kevin and Hua were immediate in their response, "Absolutely not!"

The teens shuddered to think of what a drunk Einar would act like. His childish pranks were already horrible, but what if he pulled out all the stops...

They felt a chill run down their backs, world destruction would come from him rather than the Honkai.

Himeko whined, "Why not, he would be legally able to?"

Hua was the one who came up with an excuse, "Because who would believe that he's several dozen millennia old? Besides, he looks like a teenager."

The captain seemed to deflate at the answer, but otherwise accept it.

"Fine, but I'm still asking him later."

Kevin and Hua turned to the other, now they just had to convince Einar before the women in front of them could.

For the sake of the world, Einar could never become drunk.

* * *

Speaking of the anomaly, he was currently finishing up his wife's demonic collection of horrific monstrosities. Maybe she liked them because they opposed humanity same as her?

The boy shrugged, it didn't matter to him too much. Long as they could just keep pretending for just a few moments longer.

Of course, the fragile peace has to shatter at some point.

A loud alarm blared throughout the city. A voice spoke in a mechanical tone, warning the city's populous.

"_Warning, warning, a large burst of Honkai energy has been detected outside of the city. Please stay calm and proceed to the nearest shelter for emergency evacuation."_

"_Warning, warning, a lar-"_

The message began looping, but it had already accomplished its effects. Swarms of people were rushing to the shelters under the glare of flashing red lights.

Einar simply stood amidst the chaos, the bundle of plushies in his arm gaining a weight they had not previously possessed.

He dropped the pile into a portal that had formed on the ground. The panicked citizens didn't even notice the supernatural feat in their haste.

The pale girl that had accompanied the boy had vanished as soon as the sirens blared. He was alone again.

"Oh well, it's just a bunch of grunts. Shouldn't be a big deal." His voice drowned out amongst the sirens and cries of the populous.

He exited the building, his excitement building as he saw the telltale light of the Honkai.

Tangerine wisps covered his limbs as he pulled his armor from imaginary space. While he might not be able to enter the space himself, he could still store items inside of it. It was quite convenient power.

A sword formed in his right hand as his right eye raged gold and, unusually, his left was alight with an azure gleam.

He smiled at the oncoming horde. It had been a while since his last fight.

The distance between the boy and his prey was still rather substantial, at least a few dozen meters. Still, he kicked off the concrete underneath his feet, electricity dancing across his form before he vanished in a bolt of blue.

Using portals always ran the risk of the Honkai using it as well and curving space in a specific direction was not the easiest of tasks. Changing where gravity pulled him too was too slow and having the wind fly him was never the simplest to stop painlessly.

So, he altered his body's composition to that of pure lightning, allowing him to become immune to most attacks for the briefest of moments an cross distances in an instant. His regeneration would then knit his body back together as soon as he released control over his power.

The ability came with its drawbacks, however.

The first came from Einar's very nature. As a human with Herrscher powers he was immune to his own power up to a limit. His existence as a human prevented him from being total immunity to his own powers. This meant that using something that was so far outside the realm of man caused him excruciating pain.

The other drawback was Kaguya's influence.

While Einar had no concrete proof, he assumed that the reason his regeneration was passive was her doing. As such, when remaking his body on a molecular level he also had to fight his own pseudo-immortality. This meant that the entire process was rather Honkai consumptive.

Not that this fazed the boy much after he had used it for so long.

The blue streak landed in front of a templar-type Honkai beast and returned to a human form.

Einar wasted no time as he created a blade underneath the Honkai before sending into the carapace of the creature.

It burst into a small sun as it engulfed several nearby beasts, the Honkai dispersing into the familiar violet pixels.

Einar hastily crafted a wall of ice to defend himself against the flare. While it served its purpose, the wall melted into a cold mist that spread into the Honkai's ranks.

Of course, the lack of sight didn't bother the Honkai as they proceeded into the fog.

They should have learned wariness.

Water conducted electricity wonderfully, and what was mist but evaporated water.

Lightning coursed through the fog as it charred the creatures, making way for an azure bolt that crackled beside them for but a flash.

Einar appeared just beyond the misty boundaries and coated his left arm in frost as he punched it into the form of an angel-type Honkai.

It was a small beast, its form not much smaller than a humans. But it possessed razor sharp wings that it utilized with deadly prowess.

The creature was quickly enveloped by ice. Seeing that the beast was frozen, Einar launched it with a flare of lightning.

The angel flew, azure light following it before it shattered into another Honkai. The shards from its frozen corpse pierced the carapaces of several surrounding creatures.

In the middle of the destruction, Einar smiled. He felt that familiar heat in his chest from when he used his powers and became giddy. He enjoyed this. His life on the line as he faced an onslaught of supernatural creatures.

_Perhaps my reason for helping humanity isn't so selfish after all, _Einar thought, a moment of self-reflection interrupting his rampage.

He found that fact didn't bother him too much.

A Honkai chariot-type came to disrupt his musings as it used its massive forearms to attempt to crush the Herrscher Killer.

A sword soon pierced its form as it flew through a tear in space.

The boy wasn't able to create objects very far away from him, contrary to what the 1st Herrscher was apparently capable off. He typically bypassed that by using one of his few ranged abilities, ripping holes in space.

All of a sudden, a multitude of orange rimmed tears formed around the Honkai. The tips of swords could be seen poking through into this space.

The boy smiled-no smirked. A confident twist of his lips as he revealed his next move.

"Checkmate."

The blades released themselves from there prisons. Space itself warped and twisted as they raced to meet their mark.

And Einar stood amidst it all.

He had seen better days though. Even though he had not been hit, his body was fading away into golden dust and he panted as though he finished a marathon.

He coughed, a crimson liquid filled his hand.

"Well that's just wonderful." He spoke sarcastically.

The boy gave another smirk though before looking up, numerous infantry carriers appeared in the air. Fire Moth dropships.

"Fashionably late as always huh?"

* * *

Himeko gazed out the window of the aircraft. Glass lie shattered, the pavement was crushed, and the Honkai kept drawing ever further into the heart of the city.

Lightning danced, fire raged, and swords tore across the fabric of reality. And at the center of it all, lay a boy.

The woman sighed in exasperation, "What is that idiot doing?"

Even Hua, who was near enough to hear her captain, agreed with her words. Einar currently looked to be leaking golden dust from his armor. The color seeped out of his armor in an endless stream, as though the wind was blowing out what was contained within the metal.

"Even if he's thousands of years old, he still hasn't matured a wink." The crimson maiden muttered. Her wistful smile, however, contradicted the words she spoke.

She made no mention of Hua's confusion and proceeded to the large sliding door of the aircraft.

They had slowed down significantly since they had entered the city, but the rush of air from the opening in the craft was still uncomfortable to say the least.

She gazed at the battle that raged below her.

"Well team, what are you waiting for? We have a teammate to bail out!"

The squad made a show of groaning but otherwise didn't seem to mind much, if the resignation in their smiles was any indication. After all, he was the only one they could rely on of Himeko got too drunk. Why Dr. Mei saw fit to give the beer loving women Honkai based powers was unknown to them.

Himeko, seeing no objections, jumped out the craft. They were about three stories off the ground, which was hardly anything to her.

Of course, her squad was a different story, but thankfully Mei had solved that problem. She had essentially remade the rifles from the fight against the 3rd Herrscher into a backpack with the same purpose, blasting compressed air.

Since it couldn't be activated in a long burst, it had to be used fairly close to the ground. Luckily, Himeko had required them to use the device in a safe environment before now.

Not every squad had access to these creations, but Mei had figured that it would be helpful for the other members to keep up with Himeko and even Einar to a certain extent.

As soon as they landed, most of the squad shed their backpacks. They certainly weren't light and many of the members would rather shed the weight than use its benefits. It required a bit of bodily contortion to angle the device anywhere but up after all, which is why only a young female member by the name of Mitsuha kept it on.

Himeko was by Einar's side in an instant, "Maybe next time you won't leave without us."

The boy chuckled exhaustedly, "What, I shouldn't trust you to have my back?"

Readying her sword, the woman grinned, "Never said that now did I?"

She charged a Honkai beast, running her sword through the chariot's torso. She then took hold of the dispersing Honkai and converted it to a fire across her sword.

"That's better." She said, the flame illuminating her face.

Hua also fought the Honkai with a vigor. While she wasn't able to kill the beasts as easily as her captain and friend, she made up for it in precision. Every punch landed with a sickening crunch into the carapace of the creatures in front of her. Every toss of her fists rending the supernatural.

She landed a blow on an angel-type, sending it flying into the path of a wrathful marksmen.

Mitsuha used her rifle in combination with the height advantage provided by her jetpack of sorts to turn each Honkai into a violet light with a well-placed shot.

Meanwhile, Einar was not simply sitting around and letting his friends do all the work. A large golden chain appeared and constricted himself around his arm.

He motioned his arm in the direction of a Honkai. The chains responded eagerly, stretching out and restricting the beasts movement.

The creature cried out in pain, a horrid, artificial screech, and halted its movements.

A Honkai beast was made of Honkai energy, that's why they simply dissolved into violet light when killed, and when that energy is cut off, it produces a deadly effect. In fact, the same process would produce a similar effect on Einar.

But the boy was no yet done. He sent electricity coursing down the golden chains, shocking the beast.

But before anyone could do anything else, a bolt of Honkai energy came out of nowhere, blasting the beast into the expected purple glow.

A young man with white hair revealed himself from behind its disappearing corpse.

Himeko was the first to say anything, "Your late!"

Though the words were scathing, the white of her teeth showing signaled something else.

Kevin came a small upturn of his lips as well, "Einar told me that the heroes always show up fashionably late."

The boy in question shouted in indignation, "Hey!"

Laughter escaped those in range of the conversation, despite the dangerous situation they were currently in.

Kevin parried a templar's lance before blasting it point blank with one of his pistols.

"Your 'gun kata' is still rather interesting Kevin. Want to teach it to me?" Einar spoke intrigued by the fighting style.

"Absolutely not, I have to have something to hold above you."

"Please don't be so upfront with your intentions..." The boy whined.

Himeko joined in with a change of topic, "Oh yeah! Einar, you need to come drinking with me!"

Einar gave her an incredulous look, "I'm not even old enough yet."

"Don't try pulling that, Kevin told me today your older than dirt!" Himeko refuted.

The boy held up his finger as he tried to say something before closing his mouth, "I-jus-actually you're not wrong. That's kind of sad."

He thought about it for a beat, he really was older than some dirt at this point. That kind of hurt to think about.

Einar shook his head clear of those thoughts, "Anyway, no. Someone needs to stay sober enough to bring you home."

"Aww..." The woman said, sounding much like a dejected toddler.

The Honkai dropped like flies.

Kevin taking care of any mid ranged opponents as he slung his guns in a maelstrom of bullets.

Himeko crushing Honkai underneath the blade of her flaming greatsword as she tore into their flesh with fire and brimstone.

Hua beating Honkai with her lightning quick strikes from her Solium gauntlets.

Mitsuha and the rest of Himeko's squad eviscerating the beasts with bullets and swords strikes.

And the Honkai seemed to only gain in number.

Himeko blocked the strike of a chariot's large arms with her greatsword before pushing it back and slashing it across the chest.

"Where are all of these things coming from?" She yelled to no one in particular.

_She's no wrong, the sheer amount of Honkai make it feel as though..._

Einar's train of thought trailed off as he came to a startling conclusion.

"It's a Herrscher! The 6th Herrscher is producing the Honkai!"

No matter how many Honkai beast were in a group, only so many could form from a mass of Honkai energy. A Herrscher, however, exuded a near infinite Honkai energy to fuel both her powers and the creation of Honkai beasts.

Almost as if it was waiting for him to say that, a black and purple mist began pouring into the city.

The strange thing was that, despite its odd color, it didn't seem to be doing anything as it spread across both the city's landscape and the oncoming Honkai.

Einar bolted forewords in a blue bolt of light, intent of discerning the effects of the mist.

Doing something stupid, he reached his arm into the oncoming fog.

"Agh!" he grunted in pain. The mist was causing his flesh underneath his armor to disperse, revealing the white bone underneath and eventually destroying even that.

He jerked his arm form the cloud. It didn't do much as the ominous cloud stuck to his skin like glue, inching up his arm ever further.

He immediately tried to blow it off using wind. No luck.

His next reaction was to burn it off using fire. Success with a burnt arm.

Regeneration was already kicking in as he warned the other Fire Moth soldiers, "Fall back! This stuff is highly dangerous!"

That alone put the soldiers on high alert, if Einar found something dangerous, then normal people wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Hell.

Of course, they were prepared for something of this sort to happen, as aircraft began to arrive almost as soon as the boy had finished speaking.

As the soldiers were evacuating the area, Einar stopped Himeko for a moment.

"Hey, captain." He grabbed her arm, causing her to look back at him with curiosity.

"Fire works quite well against the mist, can you help me burn it to give everyone a bit more time to get out?" He asked seriously.

Himeko grinned, "Of course! What kind of captain would I be if I didn't ensure the wellbeing of my squad?"

The boy chuckled, "Not a very good one I suppose."

He brought them to the encroaching mist with a portal and went over the plan.

"Okay, when I create a flame, I'm going to have a lot of Honkai energy pour off of my body, I want you to use that to set this gunk ablaze."

She seemed almost bored, "That's it?"

Einar smiled, his captain was something of a challenge seeker it would seem.

"That's it." He confirmed.

"Well alright then, let's get started shall we?" She shouted.

A moment later the evacuating members of Fire Moth saw the mist ignite, a flame engulfing the entirety of it as it burned like a second sun.

Hua could feel the heat even thought she was several blocks away.

A raging wind then blew past, sending the soldiers' hair flying in the direction of the flame, and stocked the raging fire.

Another moment later and Einar and Himeko showed up through a black abyss, a portal. They both looked a little red, as though they had gotten a sunburn at the beach.

"What are you looking at? Let's go, we'll talk later." The crimson haired maiden responded.

Hua nodded, no was not the time for questions.

They boarded the aircraft and left, the fire already dying down. The purple shadow soon encompassed the flames until they no longer raged.

Einar gazed down at them from the small window in the craft. All the Herrscher up until the point, even the two he hadn't fought, had powers he could replicate to some extent. There were even some powers he had that no Herrscher could yet use.

But this one was different, no matter how hard he tried, he could not recreate that mist of death. That scared Einar.

For the first time in a long time, he had to face something he was completely unfamiliar with, and that certainly wasn't the most enjoyable of prospects.

_I guess this is how everyone else feels against the Honkai on a regular basis, huh?_ The boy mussed. Maybe he wasn't so human after all.

Maybe he was jus-

"Are you alright?" A concerned voice rang out to his side.

He jumped slightly, it was just Hua.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought."

The girl seemed to accept the answer, "That's good."

An awkward silence enveloped the two.

"Who's the strongest person you've ever fought?"

The questioned startled the boy for a moment, "Why do you ask?"

She answered a little nervously, "Well, Kevin said that you were sixty-two thousand years old, so it thought that it might be interesting to hear some stories."

Einar brought his hand to his forehead, "That guy just told everyone he knew didn't he. Can't keep a secret..." He trailed off.

Hua's enthusiasm was not assuaged, however, "So, who was it? Was it Lu Bu? Oda Nobunaga? Bruce Lee?"

"I-wha-why do you even assume that I've even fought them before!?"

The boy could see it now, between Kevin and Hua, the people asking about various mythological places and people would only increase from here. And so, would his headache.

And of course, Himeko was just watching them while laughing herself to tears.

_Oh yeah, a great day indeed, _the boy though sarcastically to himself.

But, despite his thoughts, he wouldn't trade these moments for anything else.

Well...almost nothing else.

* * *

A small girl looked over the carnage wrought about the city below by the Honkai.

She was a young girl, mid-teens perhaps, and wore a school uniform from the city she currently gazed at.

Her eyes were as clear blue as the ocean water and her hair was a black on the outside and the same shade of blue underneath that initial layer. It was certainly an odd look, but she wore it so well, it was unsure as to whether it was dyed or not.

She stole a glance at one of the aircrafts leaving the city and gave a smile full of sadistic glee.

"Don't worry Onii-chan," She spoke in a loving tone, her voiced holding an undertone of possession, "I won't let the filth of this world harm you anymore."

She held her hand to her cheek and blushed, "Because you'll be all mine soon enough, Einar onii-chan."

She then hoped of the building she had sat upon with a graceful leap and vanished within the purple mist.

**Author's Notes: This turned out to be far longer than I expected. I was creating scenes in my head and didn't expect this to go too far over 5000 let alone just over 7000. I feel rather accomplished.**

**But enough about that, I came to a realization before writing this chapter. My foreshadowing was as subtle as the sun imploding and I wanted to at least try and change that.**

**Another thing to mention is that the next chapter will not have the 6****th**** Herrscher fight, or at the very least not all of it. It will contain some things that will become staples of the story in the coming chapters and I also wanted to make sure that the next Herrscher requires at least of bit of thinking on the part of Fire Moth rather than just have Einar brute force everything.**

**Back to this chapter though, I hope you guys liked the scene with Einar and Kaguya from before he got his powers. It is currently the scene that would be the very first if I put everything in chronological order.**

**I also tried to build a bit of character relations this chapter, not just Einar and Kaguya. Not every character will have an equal amount of time with others, for example; Mei spends most of her time cooped up in a laboratory and doesn't interact much unless people come to her, rather than the other way around. Another example would be that Hua and Himeko's relationship will receive far more attention than say, Kevin and Himeko's.**

**The final thing I want to address is Einar's power level. He's powerful. But in this chapter I wanted to emphasize one thing; his endurance. Einar is like a marathon runner, he can run at full speed for a short while, or he can run a lot slower and last for far longer. Or, you could compare him to a sniper rifle; he can fire large caliber bullets at the cost of limited magazine size. I'm simplifying that for analogy's sake, please don't kill me gun nuts!**

**And that just about wraps things up! See you in the next chapter you beautiful people!**

**Sayonara,**

**the Slow White Guy**


	11. An Immortal Conflict

An Immortal Conflict

_Back when Einar first joined Himeko's squad, he was given a standard introduction to the members._

_A "Team building exercise" his newfound captain had called it. Over food made courtesy of their captain._

_It further solidified his opinion that Yasuhiro just wanted to make a squad full of the strangest people imaginable._

_So, here the boy was, gathered with four other around a table in a small meeting room of sorts._

_A girl of medium height with shoulder length brown hair and forest green eyes was the first to speak up._

"_Ooh ooh, me first!" She jumped up and down with a strange energy._

_Seeing no objections within the time frame of half a second, she continued unperturbed._

"_My name is Mitsuha Tachibana! I like strawberry ice-cream blasting the Honkai with my sniper rifle!" The blindly grin still plastered on her lips._

_Einar was following along until the final part of her introduction, confused but not shocked until that point._

"_Uh..." He had no idea on how to follow that up._

_Most girls who acted as she does, hyperactive and seemingly innocent, were the last ones he would expect to have a hobby of blasting supernatural creatures into oblivion with a rifle of any kind._

_Usually they were more hammer people, as he had found out._

_Of course, none of that explained why she had seen fit to proclaim her favorite ice-cream. The world may never know what went through her mind that day..._

_The next person didn't wait for his confusion to subside however and began their own introduction. Or do anything to abate the confusion for that matter._

_He was the most normal Japanese person that Einar had ever seen. He was a boy of average height, taller than Mitsuha, and had both black hair and eyes, a typical anime protagonist if there ever was one._

"_My name is Takeru Kamiijo." He spoke in a dry tone._

_Silence filled the room, it seemed that was it._

Now that I think about, _Einar mussed, _why did I expect any more? Was it because Mitsuha gave me her life's story?

_Mitsuha, seeing that Takeru wasn't going to continue, pounced on the man. They seemed to be rather familiar with each other, judging from how the boy didn't even try and run away, just accepting it with a blank look._

_She spoke in her, what he assumed to be, normal, chipper tone, "Come on Takky, you have to give us something more than that!"_

_The most angelic smile I had ever seen spread across her face, "You will right?"_

_Well, it would have been, if it had met her eyes._

_Her pupils simply gazed at the poor boy with cold, lifeless emotion. The piercing gaze seemed to prevent life itself from escaping, a gaping maw ready to devour those lured in by its angelic bait._

_The Devil himself would run in fear if he saw such a sight._

_Takeru, the poor guy was still in the demon's clutches, simply gulped and nodded. His survival instincts not letting him do anything more than that._

Note to self; don't mess with Mitsuha- no scratch that, don't get near her to begin with, _Einar thought to himself. World wars would have ended in a matter of minutes if faced with that._

_Takeru continued, his voice cracking ever so slightly, "I-I like cheesecake and I use a scythe in combat."_

_Einar wondered why sharing one's favorite dessert was necessary but didn't decide to question it._

_The next participant spoke up, "My name is Fu Hua. I like dragon's beard candy and use gauntlets in combat."_

_A chill went down Einar spine, that candy brought up some bad memories._

_Never again will he go fishing again._

_Unaware of his inner turmoil, the final of Einar's new squad mates came up to greet him._

_He was a fairly tall man but had very feminine features and wore glasses to cover his brown eyes. His blond hair was a bit longer than Takeru's, adding to his "pretty boy" aura._

"_So, you're the one the bigwigs found lying around huh?"_

_The boy said after pushing his glasses up his nose._

_Mitsuha, once again, had a comment for this development, not giving Einar any time to respond._

"_Don't mind Wilhelm, his glasses are fake. He just wants to look smart."_

_In an anime a tick mark would have appeared on the blonde's head. He seemed to be rather annoyed at the girl._

_Einar simply gazed, highly amused, at the interaction between the two. These three seemed to have known each other for quite some time. He doubted they had only known each other for the year since the Honkai's emergence and Fire Moth's founding._

_Fu Hua seemed to be the odd one out however, she stood of to the side a bit awkwardly as the other three proceeded with their shenanigans. She looked to be as though she wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment._

_So of course, Einar being Einar, decided to annoy her in his usual fashion._

"_Are they always like this, or is it just for special occasions?"_

_A small smile cracked through the girl's façade._

"_Mostly always so you should probably get used to it before it gets too annoying."_

_The boy waved his hand in a dismissive wave, "Its fine, I find them to be rather likeable. In fact, they remind me of some people I knew a long time ago."_

_Hua raised a singular eyebrow, "Really? I find it hard to believe that there are more people like this trio."_

_Einar gave a chuckle at her remark, "Oh but they were, a real strange bunch those guys. They pulled me back on my feet once. They choose to help me even though they weren't in the greatest of spots themselves."_

_He then gave a large grin, "They're the reason that I'm such a well-rounded person!"_

_As Hua opened her mouth to refute that claim, didn't need to know him long to detect the sarcasm in his voice, she was interrupted by the untimely yell of a certain brown haired girl._

"_Hey, no fair! You guys can't have bonding time without us!"_

_Takeru gave a snort, "I don't think you can stake a claim on 'bonding time' as you put it Mitsuha."_

"_I concur, we do not have a monopoly on what the other members do with their free time." Wilhelm pushed up his glasses further along his nose as he gave his two cents._

_The girl in question gained an exaggerated look of shock and betrayal as her head shifted rabidly from between her two companions._

_It was at this moment that Einar decided to interject._

"_Tsk, tsk, gaining up on a lady, you two should have some shame." Despite the severity of the words spoken, Einar was wildly amused as the grin on his face indicated._

"_Wh-I-no-!"_

"_I-Why would I nev-!"_

_As the two boys sputtered out their hastily constructed denials, Mitsuha rolled with laughter._

"_Hahaha, that was brilliant! Well new guy, I like you!"_

_She eventually got up and stretched out her hand to Einar, even as she wiped tears from her eyes, "I have a feeling we'll be great friends!"_

"_Hey!" Takeru intruded. "Now who's leaving the other squad members out!"_

_Mitsuha put her hands behind her back, stood on the soles of her feet, and whistled innocently. Everyone knows that if you whistle, you are completely innocent._

_Einar stared, laughing at the scene and even Hua gained a smile at the humorous events unfolding before them._

_At that moment Himeko decided to arrive with her culinary creations._

"_Hello, I hope you don't mind taking a small break to eat."_

_Himeko walked in the room pulling a cart, with several dishes on them, into the room. Everyone was handed a plate of food, which looked surprisingly good, no one had expected their captain to have any culinary talent._

_A moment later, they all took a bite._

_At that moment they newly formed squad had come to their first unanimous decision._

_Never let Himeko into the kitchen. Their lives depended on it._

* * *

Einar was proceeding with his daily routine. Eat, sleep, and run away from his teammates for fear of his sanity.

Himeko or Hua, most likely the former, had spilled the beans about his age to the rest of the squad and they now found an enjoyable pastime in tracking down and cornering him so he can answer questions like, "Was Gandhi really bald?"

The content of the questions were both hilarious and concerning.

So, this inevitably led to Einar taking refuge in the lab with Mei, which she was completely okay with.

"Einar, please leave the laboratory. Now." The woman in question spoke in a cold voice.

"What! How could you be so cruel to me in my time of need!"

Mei sighed in exasperation, "You can teleport. I believe I've made my case."

The boy stood up and pointed his entire arm in his friend's direction, "Objection!"

"Objection overruled."

"Since when do you have that kind of power!?"

The girl refused to answer, instead bringing up a screen full of information on a strange curved, Solium stick. That was honestly what Einar thought it looked like from the image showed. It was a slightly curved stick that ended in a smaller more pronounced curve towards the bottom. It also connected to a handle of sorts that had half of a diamond shape of the side opposite of the small curve.

Not giving Einar the time to ask what the item was she spoke, "Well, if your so adamant about staying here, then I might be able to make use of you."

The boy's face fell into a deadpan, "I'm so glad that you care so much for my well-being."

Mei simply continued with her explanation, "Recently I've discovered that the Herrscher cores power is not contained exclusively within the gem of the corresponding Herrscher. It seems to come from a different dimension almost, much like the 2nd Herrscher's imaginary space."

Einar caught on, "And so, since I have a similar core, you want me to help you try to access that space."

She nodded, "Exactly. You'll also get a Solium weapon out of the situation as well, which could never hurt."

The boy agreed with that assessment since Solium was the only material he could create using his powers. Apparently the 1st Herrscher could but it was not something that the anomaly could replicate. He could, at best, store Solium in a pocket dimension of sorts, but that was it. Mei had a far more technical way of describing it, but he didn't understand a word of it so that's what he was going with.

Although, he did have some reservations.

"As much as I don't mind helping I do need to know something, would this cut of my connection to my core?" He voiced his concerns. After all, losing that connection, even for just a moment, would be dangerous, if not fatal.

"Hmm," Mei was pensive as she thought of the possibility.

After a few moments, she answered, "I don't believe it will, but I won't rule out the possibility."

Einar grinned, "Good enough for me! What do you need me to do Doc?"

"First, don't call me that."

"Aw..."

"Second, I just need you to enter the usual spot so I can watch the results from a safe location."

"What do you mean 'from a safe location'!?"

The boy's cries were, as usual, ignored.

* * *

Despite his theatrics, Einar did end up willingly entering the room.

He felt rather strange holding the Solium stick. In fact, he was currently trying to think up a name for it. Actually, he supposed that was unrelated but when has that ever stopped him before.

"..nar...Ein...Einar!"

The boy's head shot up, his wayward thoughts vanishing to be pondered upon another time.

"Yes?" He asked with a small tilt of his head.

Mei's voice came through the intercoms, "Are you ready to begin?"

"Sure. What are we doing exactly though?"

Einar had a feeling that the scientist had already explained this, but he had more important issues to deal with. Such as naming his stick.

Mei sighed, she found that she does that quite often when talking with Einar.

"I just need you to flood the Solium with Honkai energy when I say to and then I'll do the rest."

If Einar was pouring Honkai into the object, then it would have an idea of what to bind to and Einar would be 'opening the gate' in some sense.

Another reason that Mei choose Einar to test this on, rather than a Herrscher core, was because the boy was both willing to go through with it and possessed a rather unique Honkai signature.

All Honkai energy has a fingerprint of sorts, it varies slightly depending on the type of Honkai beast or their class and more so if it's a Herrscher.

Einar's, however, is almost as though it's a completely different entity. It was less violent and more controlled than that of the Herrschers'.

The boy nodded to signal his agreement.

"Begin." Mei spoke over the intercom.

An orange-gold light proceeded to envelope the Solium. For its part, the metal absorbed the energy in a way reminiscent of a sponge in water.

A faint breeze began to form in the confines of the secure room as the light continued to shine ever brighter.

Mei then activated the device. Solium was just as much a computer as it was a metal, it could store information that could allow it to change its properties to some extent with the proper resources.

This was what the scientist was banking on as the Solium would have resisted the Honkai energy otherwise. By binding it to Einar's 'Honkai fingerprint' she could have the metal power its systems with his abilities and still resist the interference of foreign energy.

What Mei was doing was having Einar open the gate to the dimension where his powers were kept and keep it open with a small connection from the sword. The simplest way to describe it would be to compare it to creating a small hole in a door for a wire to pass through.

Although, the scientist would never have expected that something else would be in that Honkai dimension.

Suddenly, Einar fell unconscious, falling to the ground with a dull thud. The blare of alarms quickly followed. The sounds were coming from the terminals containing the observational data as warnings of unknown anomalies came, not from the Solium shell, but from Einar's core.

Reality itself seemed to crack like a broken mirror in front of the boy.

Space warped and time lost all meaning. The air was whirled into a frenzy and felt both scorching hot and freezing cold. Mei's body felt as light as a feather and as heavy as the ground beneath her feet.

In this world of contradictions, a pale light came from the shattered realm in front of Einar. It gradually morphed and solidified into a coherent shape.

It was a monster.

The creature's slender frame seemed to hold an immense power as the very space around it seemed to distort as it moved.

_This, _Mei barely strung together her thoughts, her mind gripped by terror, _is what the Honkai truly is, isn't it._

Everything that Fire Moth had fought up until this point was either a simply inhuman creature or a human in appearance with terrifying powers. Human themselves had come up with more terrifying beasts for entertainment.

There was no pretense of human influence or inferiority in this thing that was before the scientist. It was truly deserving of the title 'monster'.

With its back to her the monster took an appendage and caressed the fallen form of the boy still in the room. The area around him was devoid of the chaos surrounding that-no, not just devoid of that chaos, but the space around him seemed to be actively protecting him.

After a moment the monster turned to face Mei.

Its face was unlike anything the girl had ever seen. Its eyes and mouth seemed to be almost drawn on, as though a child had scribbled with a pencil vague shapes for this thing's features.

Mei could not bring herself to say anything as she stood their frozen in terror. She only just noticed that the glass separating her from the monster had disappeared without her noticing.

The monster took slow deliberate steps towards her, leaving the downed boy behind her form.

How large was it? Could it fit through the hole it the wall where the glass was? Could it fly if it was too small?

None of the questions that might have crossed Mei's mind appeared in this moment. The only thing that mattered was the face of the Honkai in front of her.

It's mouth never moved but words floated into her head in an agonizing shout of unadulterated rage. A fiery destruction that would consume the world.

"**You dare to corrupt my beloved with your humanity." **It began, the voice louder than anything Mei had ever heard and yet it did not seem as though it was shouting.

"**You dare to attempt to destroy our connection." **The voice was gradually getting louder, more vengeful.

The monster was right in front of her, its breath moving her locks of hair. Its eyes filling her vision.

"**However, I will let you live."**

The monster backed away, grasping at the edges of the broken window.

"**You desire to give my beloved strength. You think you can help him. You think you can save your race."**

The monster was now crawling back towards Einar.

"**I will show you how wrong you are."**

Wisps of orange and gold whipped around the beast, the shell that protected Einar still intact even as it hovered over him.

"**I will show you that nothing you have is safe."**

And with those final words, the monster vanished. The air returned to normal and the pressure disappeared.

Mei slunk to the ground.

She needed to talk to Einar about a few things.

* * *

Einar woke up on the floor in the middles of the barren testing room.

"Anyone got the plate of the pizza scooter that ran me over? I want some pizza right now..."

As per usual, the boy is even more of an idiot when waking up.

After regaining his senses, Einar took a look around the room. The last thing he remembered was a flash of red light followed by a loud noise. He could have sworn that he was in his bed asleep as he slept quite well. In fact, he could have sworn that he felt a familiar presence while he was asleep...

Ignoring that, the room had undergone a rather drastic change during his nap. The room was burned in some spots and frozen in others. There were cuts along the walls and the floor and the window, which was extraordinarily difficult to break, lay shattered.

Einar's next observation was the Solium object still held in his grasp, it had undergone a rather drastic change itself.

The main curve of the metal now sported a semi-transparent orange blade that wisped like a small tangerine flame. It was curved like ancient Japanese katana and ended with a claw like curve towards the handle of the weapon.

The handle was also a bit different. The straight part of the handle had gained a woven synthetic metal covering over it. The strange half diamond shape had gained a thin gold band that wrapped around it. Azure lightning periodically flashed throughout the handle.

The blade and the handle were separated entirely now, an empty space now formed in the middle of the part between them. Inside that empty space floated an translucent gem. It seemed to flicker between blue and orange as it spun slowly on its axis.

Einar felt a strange connection to the blade, a sort of kinship.

"I guess Mei's experiment worked out after all."

He took the weapon in his hands and spun it around a bit.

"What does it do though?"

Mei never told him what it did, just told him that it might not cause his demise.

"Speaking of which, where is Mei?" The boy swiveled his head, looking around the room.

He had assumed that he might have come down after the experiment ended. Unless of course, he was only asleep for a few moments. In any case, he hopped that Mei was okay. If he was the cause of Mei being injured, then Kevin would kill him. Forget being immortal, Kevin would find a way regardless.

A flash of blue and Einar appeared at the edge of the broken window.

_Huh, that didn't hurt, _Einar realized. That though was quickly put in the back of his mind as he laid eyes on a worrying sight.

"Mei!"

The scientist was sitting on a chair in the midst of shards of broken glass and sparking electronics.

Einar rushed to the girl's side to examine her condition. Despite the destruction around her she had no wounds on her body that the boy could see.

The boy was confused that no security guards or even just anyone had come to the destroyed room. How had the room even got to this state was still a question he had.

Mei's safety was a priority though, his questions could wait.

"Mei, can you hear me? Are you okay?" Einar asked gently.

"Stop yelling..." Her weak voice finally spoke up.

The boy exhaled a breath of relief at her word, if she could insult him then she's fine. A strange metric to use but one that was rather effective against most of the people that Einar knew.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked in a quieter voice. "Do you need anything? Want me to get Kevin?"

The scientist held up a hand, "No I'm fine, I just need to get my bearings."

Einar accepted that answer in regard to her health, she didn't seem to be lying after all, but there was still one looming mystery.

"What happened here? It looks almost like you were attacked, but both of us are unscathed." He questioned, confusion coloring his voice.

Mei seemed hesitant to answer.

"Einar, what do you know about the origins of your powers?"

That one question tipped Einar off to all he needed to know.

He grimaced in reply before stating, "You saw Kaguya."

His voice was melancholy. The last time Kaguya had meat someone who had even done him inadvertent harm, she removed them from existence. And that's the nice way of putting it.

What was highly concerning to the boy was why she let Mei live. She had never been fond of people in general and that was only exacerbating by their last face to face meeting. He could only imagine the disdain she held for his race, one which he could gain something of an understanding of from the actions of her servants, the Herrschers.

Mei snorted, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Is that what you call that monster?"

Einar could understand why she might have called Kaguya that, he really did. But then again, it was only for the briefest of moments, right after his near death experience. However, having someone call his wife a monster was not something he was terribly fond of, to say the least.

"Yes," He answered his friend, bracing himself for her inevitably reaction to his next words. "And she's my wife."

Mei froze.

"What."

She phrased the word as more of a command than a question.

Unlike Einar, Fire Moth's resident quantum physicist was not privy to the other side of Kaguya. Her initial, and currently only, meeting with the Honkai creature was an adrenaline fueled nightmare. Not exactly suitable for first impressions.

The scientist wasn't done, however, "How did you even meet that thing, let alone fall in love with it?"

Despite the situation, the boy chuckled, "Well, she found me actually."

Mei was not nearly as amused, and her glare communicated that extremely well. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and elaborated.

"One day she simply came up to me and said, 'you're different' before latching on to me. As it turned out, she didn't know how she came to be and only knew that she found humans to be as attractive as cockroaches."

Mei interjected, "And what made you so much different?"

The boy shrugged in response, "Even she never really knew. Only ever said that I didn't 'feel' like any other human and that she simply grew attached after that."

The scientist's brain was in overdrive. What were the odds that, not only did the Honkai creature manifest in front of Einar, but that she found him to be better than all other humans or that she even found one better at all? It was astronomically low, almost zero from any metric.

Despite her many questions about the lackluster story, there was one glaring detail missing.

"Why did it give you your powers?"

Einar gave a little smile, "Why do you assume she gave them to me?"

"Because I doubt you could take them, and I don't assume the idea of protecting you if it wasn't around ever crossed its mind. Not being human would naturally mean that you don't have human common sense after all." Mei pointed out.

"That's some sound reasoning." The boy agreed. "Well, to answer your question, it was to save my life and then some."

He chuckled at his friend's look of confusion, it wasn't a common sight after all with her intelligence.

"To put into layman's terms, she wanted to save my life and then prevent something like that from ever happening again. Which also including wanting to wipe out the rest of the human race, but that's beside the point."

_How is that beside the point! _Is what Mei wanted to cry out, but she was interrupted by an untimely beeping in her ear.

"The Herrscher alarm." She noted with a scowl. There was still a lot she wanted to ask Einar, but it seems that would have to wait for another time.

Einar gave a nervous smile, "Well, duty calls! We can talk when we get back!"

A tear in space opened beside him before he turned around in haste.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask what this thing does." He waved around the sword he had picked up from its position on the ground where it had laid when he was worried for Mei's health.

Any shock that Mei might have had for the project's success was overruled by other events.

She sighed, "I'll tell you on the ride to the drop zone. That is, if you actually get in the aircraft with the rest of your squad for once."

The boy chuckled nervously, seemed he wasn't getting out of this one.

* * *

"So basically, this thing is the greatest cheat ever created for me." Einar summed up after hearing the explanation of his new weapon.

He was currently inside of a Fire Moth transport aircraft, listening to Mei tell him what his new weapon allowed him to do.

The weapon essentially functioned as a surrogate body for the boy. It allowed him to channel his powers through it and increase the amount of time he could use his powers as it reduced the amount of Honkai in his own body.

"That is not the word that I would use, but I suppose it works." Mei spoke to Einar through the comm.

"Well, regardless we're nearing the drop zone, so see you later Mei! Tell Kevin I said hi."

The scientist simply sighed and hung up.

Einar laughed, "Probably should have expected that."

Mitsuha spoke out from the other side of the aircraft, "Are you finally done reading the tutorial over there?"

"No, I'm writing the guidebook." The boy retorted.

Wilhelm gave his own opinion on the matter.

"That...that is not as nearly as funny as you think it is." He said in a dry voice.

The anomaly was about to give an offended response when Himeko appeared from her previous position in the cockpit of the craft.

"Okay guys we'll be dropping in a few minutes so let's go over the plan." She spoke in a relatively serious tone.

The information they had on the new Herrscher was few and far between. The only thing that they knew about her was that she was capable of creating a mist deadly to any human that was contained within it and could only be stopped by burning it.

Of course, assuming that was all that the 6th could do was just wishful thinking.

"...Which is why me and Einar are going to be on the ones closest to the fog. Everyone else is on support duty keeping the Honkai beast away from us and keeping a reasonable distance from the fog." Himeko elaborated.

From a tactical standpoint it made sense to leave the only two people with the ability to counter the deadly mist fight the Herrscher, but it also wasn't something that sat well with the rest of the squad.

"Don't worry," Himeko started, attempting to assuage their fears, "if push comes to shove then I can just use Einar as a meat shield."

Everyone was in agreement with the plan after that, in spite of Einar's protests.

His words, however, were interrupted by the announcement of the pilot followed a decrease in speed of the aircraft.

"Here we are! You guys ready back there?"

The squad voiced their agreement and they opened the door.

They were greeted with the sight of a blackened city, ravaged by deathly mist and Honkai beasts.

Many of the taller buildings poked through the top of the low hanging abyss. A void of Honkai crafted fog decimating life below their sky-reaching roofs.

Himeko issued a final command before they dropped, "Stay on the rooftops as much as you can, it doesn't look like the fog can naturally reach that height!"

The wind whipped at her hair as she made her observation. The implications were obviously that the Herrscher would be able to create mist at that height, but it would float up there on its own.

That gave the crack shot Mitsuha an edge.

The dangerous glint in her eyes alluded to her enjoyment to a worrying degree, as evidenced by Takeru taking a few steps away from her.

And with that, they were off.

Gravity quickly pulled them to the roof of the building they were dropping onto as they landed with their "bargain jetpacks" as Einar so eloquently calls them.

This was where the two groups split off. Hua, Mitsuha, Takeru, and Wilhelm went to take out the Honkai surrounding the Herrscher while Einar and Himeko leapt off the building, carving a path through the smog with a raging flame.

The latter two cut through the near endless horde as they attempted their search of the Herrscher. All of the Honkai in the fog surrounding them made it very difficult to track the girl.

Which, as it turned out, was unnecessary.

She found them instead.

Or, to be more specific, a blue blur tackled Einar to the ground after the bisected a Honkai beast and tried to run him through with a knife.

The boy bent space to force her into the opposite direction and burst away from his previous location on the ground in a flash of azure light.

Himeko came rushing towards him, attempting to stall the girl if need be.

The Herrscher landed perfectly on her feet, almost like a cat, and spoke in a sad voice.

"Aw, why are you running away onii-chan?" Her voiced gradually gaining an edge to it as she continued to talk. "Don't tell me you prefer this scarlet woman over me?"

The knife in her hand morphed, turning into a black mist that almost looked to absorb the light of everything around it.

"I know," She continued, her voice growing steadily darker. "If I kill her then you'll come back to Seele right? You will won't you? This is just a test of Seele's love for you isn't it?"

Einar shivered. Forget a cold chill, a blizzard spread down his spine.

"Whose idea was it to give a yandere the power of death itself? Who though this was a good idea!?" He yelled in anguish.

While not for the same reasons, Himeko was also quite perturbed by the girl, apparently named Seele, in front of her, and not just because this girl wanted her dead.

"I don't know, but I blame you." The crimson haired woman said to her companion.

"What did I do?" He shouted in indignation.

"You're the oldest one here, so you have to take responsibility!"

"That's not how that works!"

Meanwhile, the Herrscher gained a darker expression by the moment. Her eyes were devoid of light as she spoke to the pair.

She giggled, "Cheating is bad Einar, and bad children need to be punished."

Seele threw her blade at the boy, the edge barely missing his throat as he dodged to the side.

"I'm older than you are!" He proclaimed.

Perhaps not the greatest of defenses he realized, but his mind gets stuck on strange things sometimes.

Also, he really needed to ask Kaguya to never make a yandere a Herrscher ever again. Or a tsundere. Actually, did she even have control over that process? He could think about that later, right now he needed to stay alive.

Which wasn't a difficult as he might have thought. In fact, it seemed almost too easy.

Sure, she could through her knives with deadly accuracy, but that and her flesh eating fog was the only thing she had used so far.

_Something isn't right here, there's no way this is all she has up her sleeve._

Not that he was going to complain if she was exceptionally simply to beat.

Einar teleported above the girl before increasing the effects of gravity on himself, effectively making him an immortal going at terminal velocity straight into a supernatural being's chest.

The Herrscher blocked it effortlessly. Even Einar, the closest thing there was to a Herrscher, could not outmatch the physical prowess of a true Herrscher. The effects of the Honkai that they had access to, elevated their physical prowess so far above a human level it was plain unfair.

She immediately followed up the defensive move with a lightning quick strike towards Einar's wrist. Or more specifically, the artery within his wrist.

Meanwhile, Himeko had her hands full simply blocking the occasional attack thrown her way and clearing the smog that enveloped the area.

The fog was being created in excess, preventing both Einar and Himeko from landing a blow as they were too preoccupied with the mist. In addition, Einar was struggling to keep the Seele's focus on him so that she didn't try and kill Himeko. Every moment the Herrscher was not on the defensive or the attack, was a moment that she spent inching towards The red haired maiden.

So, Einar decided to try something new.

He forced the encroachment of the imaginary space on the real world, bathing the world in a black and blue color scheme not too dissimilar to Tr*n.

The Herrscher paused in her attack.

"What are you hopping to accomplish with this onii-chan?" She was confused as she rolled to the side, dodging a small pillar of Honkai energy rushing towards her. "Oh well, if your giving up then allow Seele to help you!"

The boy grinned despite his apparent mistake, "Check and mate."

The world exploded into orange and red. Fire enveloped the mist, the Herrscher, and even Einar and Himeko.

Speaking of which, the captain was none too pleased at this situation.

"Hey, warn me next time you do something like this! What if I couldn't prevent the fire from reaching me in time!"

Einar just gave her a thumbs up, "I had the utmost faith in your abilities!"

Himeko was not amused at that remark to say the least and Einar had a feeling he was going to be put on toilet scrubbing duty for the next few weeks.

The pseudo imaginary space burned like the inside of a volcano. Fire oozed from every surface of the Honkai realm, rising into the sky before vanishing into the blue. The normally blue lines that bordered everything in the area had gained a warm red-orange color.

The mist was gone, at least in a small area, and the fire would prevent it from coming back. Everywhere Einar looked was distorted with a haze of heat.

But of course, it wasn't over.

A maniacal laugh resounded from inside the countless pillars of flame.

The 6th Herrscher walked out. Her charred from rapidly cooled, knitting itself back together and paling to the shade it was before. The crystalline blue of her eyes and hair shone in stark contrast to the heat surrounding her.

"So that's why she doesn't have much in the attacking department," Einar realized. "She can heal from any injury."

"Like you." Himeko noted.

_The Herrscher of Death is immortal. How do you defeat something like that?_ Einar mussed.

The Herrscher pouted, an adorable puff of her cheeks in childish anger, "Bad onii-chan, you weren't supposed to see this yet."

Einar noted the change of personality. He assumed that this was her "dere" mode which he probably shouldn't be as concerned with as he was.

"Oh well," She continued. "I guess I have to leave now, but don't worry I'll come back to save you from that home wrecker soon!"

She flashed a blinding smile towards Einar before the darkness returned to her gaze as her eyes drifted across Himeko's form.

The knife that was still in Seele's grasp gave all the implications Himeko needed.

And with that, she turned and dashed through the world of fire.

Einar immediately dismissed his imaginary space but declined to attempt to chase after Seele. He knew better than to think that he could find her on his own. He was a fight after all, not a tracker.

Himeko turned to face her companion, worry on her face, "Now would be a great time to know what the weaknesses of your regeneration are."

"I wouldn't mind, given the situation. Just keep in mind that I don't think that what would work against me would have the same effect on her."

Himeko was not dissuaded, "Don't care, we just need to find a way to combat her regeneration."

"Fine by me." Einar said. "We just need to make sure Mei is in the room so things might make at least some semblance of sense."

Himeko gave a tired chuckle at his statement.

Never did she think that just burning mist would be that exhausting, maybe all that beer wasn't exactly helping her as much as she thought.

Einar and Hua might have a heart attack if they heard her say that.

As her companion called the rest of the squad and the aircraft to their location, a stray thought kept nagging the Fire Moth captain.

_When could I control fire that Einar created?_

* * *

Elsewhere, a young girl grinned.

The seeds were planted. A spark was all it took to create a ragging flame.

The only thing it needed was fuel.

And so, she provided. Her beloved needed to see how easily humans fell to their desires, how simple it was to alter those desires to another will.

It didn't matter how many times it took. It didn't matter how many lives it corrupted.

Einar was the only thing that mattered to her.

And she would do anything to make him hers.

_Only mine, _She thought as she bounded away. _Only mine._

The setting sun faded into the night sky. The moon once again slowly returning to its peak amongst the stars.

But the moon never really left, the Earth left it.

But every night it would turn around to face it once again.

It was inevitable.

The girl smiled.

_It was only a matter of time._

**Author's notes: Well this took a while. I really wanted this to come out on Sunday but here we are three days later. Feel free to berate me, I deserve it.**

**But, moving on to the chapter. How did you guys like the OC's? I know they didn't get much screen time, but I don't plan on them being hugely important characters. They will definitely play have influence but not like Einar and Kaguya will. I really didn't want to add more OC's but I kind of had to with the lack of canonical characters in the Old World era, I needed to flesh out the world a bit more. Their main purpose, as you will see later, is to provide a view into the less important ranks of Fire Moth, to have more of an understanding as to what some of the regular soldiers think of some of the more prominent characters and things like that.**

**On another note, Kaguya was here. Bet you didn't expect that one huh? This chapter I really wanted to highlight her inhumanity, to show that she's not simply a human-esque creature, but a completely different species. I want to give more of a reason as to why the Honkai is evil and not dilute that. Kaguya is evil, but not for purely evil reasons. So many series try to tone down the villainy of the character simply because their a pretty girl, I don't want to do that. Think, Esdeath from "Akame ga Kill" if you've seen that anime. Evil, but shows a very different side to the object of her affections.**

**I also introduced the only "power up" I plan to give Einar in my story in this chapter. The prototype Divine Key, or 0****th**** Divine Key. It was made with the same process and the accomplish the same goal, but it doesn't have a core attached to it and can only use Einar's due to the way it functions. Unlike the Hollow Armor (otherwise known as the "Blank Key") it does not draw out the power of any Herrscher core and gift it to the wearer, but instead acts as a buffer between the damaging effects of Einar's core. I do have a name for it that will come out in the next chapter. I also put way too much time into its design and name. If anyone has any questions about its powers feel free to PM me, or just wait to see it in action more if you would rather.**

**The final thing to address would be Seele. It's never explicitly stated in the manga, but the Old World 6****th**** Herrscher looked exactly like Seele in her Azure Memories outfit. So, I'm going with that interpretation and basing her personality a little of the "Dark Seele" or the "Stigmata Seele", whichever one you want to call her.**

**As the last note I want to give you guys a hint about the last scene. The knowledge of who's speaking will be very important later on.**

**Thanks again for reading, you wonderful people you!**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


	12. A Different Kind of Red

A Different Kind of Red

_It only took a moment for the world to disappear._

_Strange creatures roamed the city's landscape, tearing into buildings with their large forms._

_Fire and smoke poured out of shattered glass windows and the sky was darkened by the smog that filled the atmosphere._

_The sound of a thunderous rain of bullets and other armaments could be heard echoing throughout the ruined city. Another sound accompanied it, one that was almost like that of a tear forming in one's clothing. The sound was accompanied with the foreboding sense that something had changed, as though the air itself was crying out in pain._

_Explosions rocked the city to its very foundation, dust and shrapnel crashing into buildings and people alike as it chewed through the material it impacted._

_Hiding amidst the chaos, a young girl sat. She had furled up her legs and brought her knees to her face as she waited out the storm._

_Running would risk getting caught be the creatures that roamed the streets. Hiding only delayed the inevitable._

_And yet, that was all the girl hoped for. Maybe, just maybe, if she stayed in one spot for long enough then someone would find her._

_And if not...well, she was tired of running either way._

_Her call was answered soon by the appearance of a winged beast. It hovered above the ground, it armored feathers not moving at all to support the creature's weight in the sky._

_She gazed at the creature with melancholy resignation._

_She couldn't escape. She was tired, both physically and emotionally and had no desire to outrun the Grim Reaper's pet._

_As she drank in the last sight she would ever see, she closed her eyes, assuming it was for the last time._

_The sudden sound of crashing metal woke her from her stupor._

_Her eyes snapped open._

_The back of a woman filled her vision. Hair as red as blood flowed down her back and she held a large greatsword._

_Death's wings fell, bisected after a blow from the woman in front of her._

_The woman turned to face the younger girl._

"_Are you alright?" She asked in a soft voice._

_The girl nodded her head in the affirmative._

"_Good."_

_The woman looked around, soaking in every detail as before she spoke again._

"_Do you want to come with us? Can't promise too much but I can definitely say that you'll be safer than most."_

_She outstretched her hand, reaching for the girl._

_It looked so inviting. The lackluster promise was so very beautiful to the girl who had lost everything._

_And so, she took the woman's hand._

_It was warm._

_She would never take this warmth for granted ever again._

_Nor would anyone take it from her again._

* * *

Einar didn't sleep the night before, but not for the reasons one might think.

No, he didn't sleep last night because he was making Valentine's day preparations.

Why? He could hear being asked by every passersby that possessed telepathy.

Because Kevin and Mei were still dancing around one another, and he'll be a pink pancake in a chocolate factory before he lets them keep ignoring the difficult talks in life. If he couldn't do it, then neither could they!

At least neither of them was genocidal and wanted to wipe out humanity as we know it. That made things easier.

Now, you might be wondering why this year was the year that Einar finally decided to do something about his friends' love life, or lack thereof, especially with the threat of the 6th Herrscher breathing down their necks.

Well, Einar had actually been able to convince Mei to leave the accusation of possible methods to work against the new Herrscher to him.

And he actually had a few! But that was for another time, right now he had bigger fry to fish.

...

Was that how the saying went? It didn't matter.

So, on this day of love and every color even vaguely resembling red or pink, he decided to play matchmaker for his two favorite playth- friends. Yeah, friends is what he meant to say.

Which is why he was currently getting Mitsuha and Takeru's help.

"Um, we really don't know either of them well enough to give you any advice." Mitsuha said after having been given an explanation of the situation.

"Well, anything is better than the brooding pretty boy over there." Einar said, jabbing his finger towards the opposite direction of the table.

Wilhelm simply sat there, receiving numerous chocolate concoctions coated in bright crimson, carboard casings from a variety of different girls. A classic case of a man popular by looks alone and not by personality.

When asked why girls like him so much, he simply said, "Because their superficial idiots." And so, Einar vowed never to ask him for romantic advice ever. Period.

Hua would probably just stare at him blankly before walking away like she never heard him, so she was out.

And he wasn't going to step on the land mine that was his captain's love life. Himeko's anguish about not being able to find a man who stuck around after a few dates was a sore spot for her.

Well, that and she chased him around Fire Moth when she learned he was married. He still couldn't tell if it was because of jealousy or rage at not being invited to the wedding that she had no idea never really happened.

_I should probably fix that at some point, _the boy thought to himself. Then again, it was hard to have a marriage ceremony when your spouse wants to kill the guests, so that was out of the picture for the moment.

But back on track, Operation Red and Fluffy was in danger and he needed new recruits.

Although, his companions were still very confused.

"Why do you need our help anyway?" Mitsuha said. "Your married aren't you? I doubt your completely hopeless with romance if you have a wife."

Einar thought about his relationship with Kaguya and about using that same model for Kevin and Mei.

He shivered, "Yeah, no. Absolutely not."

He loved Kaguya, he really did, but he would be lying to call their relationship anything close to being a model for others.

He continued, however, not wanting to give his companions any time to respond, "So, knowing Kevin as I do, we need to help him with today's holiday."

Mitsuha gained a large smile, "Of course I'll help! Just leave everything to Mitsuha, the master of love!"

She pounded a fist against her chest in pride as she spoke.

Takeru raised a brow as he listened to his friend's words, "No one calls you that."

"But they should." The girl pouted out in response.

"Hey," Einar interjected. "back to the topic at hand please? We can talk about Mitsuha's self-proclaimed title later."

The boy ignored her words of protest as he brainstormed ideas.

"Do you think we could get Mei to run down the hall with a piece of bread in her mouth?" He asked.

The other two people at the table looked at him, dumfounded.

"Are you a genius?" Mitsuha spoke in awe.

"Kevin already raised her flag so that would be useless." Takeru pointed out, ignoring the girl's idiotic words.

The instigator of the conversation looked mildly shocked at Takeru's words, "I'm surprised you even know what a flag is."

The boy gave Einar a deadpan, "If that was taken out of context, I would look like an idiot."

"I'm still in favor of Operation Runnin' and Toastin'." Mitsuha said dejectedly. It would seem that she has already given a name to the plan.

Takeru sighed, deciding right then that he would never let these two buffoons come up with any plan ever again. He was amazed anime had taken them this far though...

"Why not just get Kevin to give Mei chocolate? That is what Valentine's Day is known for after all."

The other two glanced at each other before turning their gaze to the black haired boy.

"Aren't girls the ones who typically give out chocolates though?" Mitsuha asked.

Takeru was once again exasperated, "Does the only knowledge you two have of Valentine's Day or just romance in general come from anime!?"

"Yep."

"Of course."

The boy was given confirmation by his friends.

Mitsuha he could understand, he had known her long enough to be used to her...unique, brand of knowledge. But he had hoped that the guy who was several tens of millennia old would have more common sense.

_Is this how people feel when their favorite celebrity doesn't live up to their image? _The boy thought to himself. If someone had told him that a man who was older than human civilization existed, he would have imagined a wizened and bearded old man. Maybe with a staff, but definitely not someone like the boy in front of him

Einar spoke up after a moment, "Well, Kevin isn't too much of an idiot, so surely he remembered to buy chocolates. Right?" He finished rather doubtfully.

Mitsuha, shockingly, was the one who had any information on the topic, "He probably did, at least, he would if he wants to get back on Mei's good side."

The anomaly was confused, "Good side?"

The girl nodded, "Yeah, apparently Kevin was involved in the creation of new recruitment posters and one of them was Mei in cosplay."

Both Einar and Takeru were dumfounded.

The former held up a hand, "Wait, recruitment posters? Cosplay?"

Wasn't Fire Moth a somewhat secret organization? Although, after a few Herrschers had caused some property damage, he supposed it made sense that they went public. Why wasn't he informed.

* * *

Elsewhere, a well-dressed man sneezed.

* * *

The boy shook his head, that wasn't as important. Kevin has a mischievous side? He knew the guy as a very strait-laced, no nonsense kind of guy. Was he breaking character!? Should he be worried!? Well, more than usual.

He felt a sense of irony as those thoughts crossed his mind, but he couldn't tell why.

He shrugged, it probably wasn't too important.

Einar had a feeling that some people were talking to him, probably involving Mei in cosplay, but he saw a flash of navy hair out of the corner of his eye.

Now, normally Fu Hua would not have caught Einar's attention so easily. Now, if she was running towards him with a frying pan? That was another story entirely.

But back to the matter at hand. What had truly caught the boy's eye was the red box she clutched within her arms. And considering what today was, he had a pretty good guess as to what was contained within.

And Einar would grow a beard before he refused to tease Hua over...well, anything.

_Actually, _Einar suddenly thought. _Can I even grow a beard?_

Oh well, it want important right now.

Mitsuha noticed the growing ominous smile on Einar's face and followed his gaze.

"It would seem that Einar is obviously about to commit untold horrors to Hua." The girl commented to Takeru with a blank face.

"Why is that obvious!?"

* * *

And so, after biding his teammates farewell, Einar found himself next to the chocolate holding girl.

While the boy highly doubted she had any secret romance with another soldier, he would still hold this knowledge above her regardless.

So, here he was, poised behind the uncharacteristically nervous Hua.

It was so out of character for the girl, that even Einar was concerned.

Never let it be said that Einar didn't care for the wellbeing of his friends, contrary to popular belief.

"You okay there Hua?" The boy asked kindly.

The girl jumped a little, startled by the close proximity of the speaker.

"Ah! I'm just- Oh, it just you Einar." She began before realizing who it was that spoke to her.

The boy knitted his brows together in concern, "While I'm flattered that you don't seem to view me as a threat to your Valentine festivities, you seem rather skittish."

Hua had calmed down a bit since Einar appeared, she was still rather fidgety, nervous even.

_Was giving chocolates to someone that big of a deal?_

Einar couldn't exactly claim to be an expert of Valentine's day. He had, after all, spent a majority of his life in times where the holiday didn't even exist. Seriously, try finding records of people handing out chocolate to each other in Ancient Mesopotamia. It simply didn't exist.

The girl held her hands together over the red box as she answered her friend in a nervous voice.

"Do you...think the captain likes chocolate?"

Einar gave her a chuckle in response, "I don't see why she wouldn't. She might prefer a beer instead, but I'm glad you're not giving her that."

He shuddered, "She has enough of that already."

Hua gave a weak laugh, "I suppose your right about that."

"See? So, what's holding you back?"

"I don't know..." The girl started. "I guess it just feels like a trivial gift in comparison to what she's done for me."

And now we come to the crux of the problem. Einar had heard some mentions about Himeko having saved the girl in front of him from the devastation caused by the 2nd Herrscher, but he had no idea as to how much of that was true.

It's not as though he could just walk up to her and ask, 'Hey, did Himeko save your life after a Herrscher destroyed everything you held dear?' Even he wasn't that tactless.

The boy's lips curved into a small melancholy smile, "Take it from me, no matter what you give, it won't ever seem like it's enough. That's just human nature, we're afraid that we can't ever repay the ones who did so much for us."

"So, then what do we do?" Hua asked.

Einar grinned, "You buckle up and do the best you can. If you're too afraid to give them something you think will live up to their expectations, you'll never end up giving them anything at all."

The boy reminisced about people in his own life, the ones who helped him from dark places.

He thought of a boy who shared the name of his fellow squad member.

Of the woman who gave him the will to fight.

Of the child who chased an all too fleeting dream.

Of the small band of friends that wandered the barren wastes of the world.

He recalled the girl who started it all. The one who gave him the power to fight against the current of the world, even if she was the one who stood to guard its gates.

"So," The boy placed a hand on the girl's back. "go get 'em, Hua!"

And he pushed her foreword, causing the girl to stumble. But she kept her feet on the ground and continued walking, not looking back.

_Geez, _the boy thought to himself with a sigh and a shake of his head. _It's just chocolate, how hard can it be._

He really hoped he didn't have to give more motivational speeches for Kevin or Mei, he had enough seriousness for one day.

* * *

He wasn't stalking anyone.

Stalking was the tailing of someone without their consent or knowledge.

But, since he was aiming to help them, he was fine.

At least, that's what Einar told himself so he could sleep at night.

A normal person might ask why the boy was dressed in a long trench coat, an English hat, and sunglasses.

An anime fan would say he was a jealous heroine.

Einar would say he was cosplaying Sherlock Holmes.

Regardless of who you asked, hiding behind a bush was definitely suspicious while staring at a young couple in the distance would definitely be a feat worthy of arrest.

And he was pretty sure the 'Fire Moth member' excuse, would only work so many times on the police. The fact that it wasn't a lie was probably the only reason he wasn't in a chase scene right now.

But, I digress.

Currently, Einar was tailing the object of his attention this Valentine's Day with remarkable success. And by success, he meant that the two have not noticed him. Somehow.

His hat obscured the white streak in his hair from view and his sunglasses prevented anyone from taking note of his eye colors. That wouldn't prevent anyone who knew him from recognizing him, which was why he was hiding, but it prevented compromising comments from the passersby.

"What is that man doing?"

"Is he a stalker?"

"Maybe he's a scout for an idol group?"

The boy ignored the strange comments, especially the last one. The fact that he could be mistaken for an idol scout in his current attire caused him to worry for the future of that particular industry.

He had more important thing to worry about, mainly a certain pair's choice of restaurant. After all, it was the perfect chance for Einar do something other than just use the wind to push the two into each other.

Maybe he could start a one man band in the place they chose? He was confident he could at least get a standing ovation for his shamisen skills.

His stal- observations were stopped by a sudden, familiar voice.

"Einar, what are you doing?" An angry voice said behind him.

The boy turned around and saw his captain standing there with her arms crossed and an annoyed look plastered across her face.

Einar greeted her, seemingly unperturbed by the disappointed glare he was receiving.

"Oh, hey Himeko! I'm trying to help Kevin and Mei, seeing as how the both of them are workaholics and hopeless with romance."

The woman developed a tick mark on her forehead, "Oh, and would you happen to know anything about the complaints I've received from local law enforcement about a Fire Moth member."

When facing the devil, you had to keep calm. And baring the significant paling of Einar's face and the nervous sweat that appeared, the boy was doing just that.

The demon smiled, "Why don't we go somewhere else for a moment, hmm? Your treat."

What could the boy do but agree. The Honkai might be scary, but women were even more so, especially if they were a Herrscher/the manifestation of the Honkai itself.

_Actually, that might be why the Honkai is so scary in the first place. _Einar thought.

But before he insulted anymore people in his thoughts, Himeko grabbed the disguised soldier and dragged him away. Where to, the boy would just have to find out.

He had a feeling it involved alcohol though.

* * *

_Why is it, that the only times when I'm right, it's a bad thing?_

While Einar could think of a lot of reasons, none of them were as pressing as the sight before him.

He and his captain were currently in a dimly lit room, sitting at a long counter rowed with stools. Or, in layman's terms, a bar.

Really he shouldn't be surprised, the only thing that worried him at the moment was whether he would be attacked if he teleported Himeko back to base. He didn't want to be accused of being a Herrscher, or a witch, again.

While he did debate about ridding around with a large brimmed hat on a flying broom, he ended up deciding against it. Too conspicuous, even for his tastes.

But that was beside the point.

The boy broke the silence of their conversation by asking, "Oh yeah, did you ever get any chocolate today Himeko?"

While the boy was curious to know if Hua actually took his advice, something he usually couldn't recommend, he was also preparing a quick escape in case the woman hadn't received any sugary treats today.

All in all, the risk of death was high.

Thankfully, the woman responded with a small smile and said, "Surprisingly yes, although I have a feeling you know who it was from since you asked in the first place."

Einar pretended to be incensed, "Darn, and here I thought I was being subtle, what tipped you off might I ask?"

"Maybe the fact that Hua mentioned you be name?" Himeko responded, amusement coloring her tone.

"Yep, that'd about do it."

The crimson maiden laughed before taking another gulp of alcohol. Einar decided to let her have her fun just this once, it was Valentine's Day after all. Which had nothing to do with alcohol but at least the hangover would remind her of that tomorrow.

The woman continued speaking, "Didn't think I was difficult enough to warrant that kind of a nervous reaction though."

"It's just difficult to talk to someone important to you," Einar began. "or at least express that importance. I mean, you are far easier to talk to than anyone else. If it was Kevin receiving anything from anyone other than Mei, he would most likely reject them in none too uncertain terms. He probably wouldn't spare the other's feelings much either."

Himeko stared at the counter for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking.

"On the subject of Kevin, how did the two of you even become friends? Kevin doesn't strike me as the type to initiate a conversation with you of all people." The woman asked with slight confusion.

She wouldn't exactly label the albino teen as the most outgoing of people for the most part, acted almost withdrawn for the most part. Granted, she knew that he was far less reserved back when he first joined, but she didn't imagine him as the type to befriend Einar so soon as he joined an international organization.

Einar laughed, "Funny story, that. I initially assumed that he an Mei were newlyweds when I first met them, so that might have something to do with our current friendship."

He continued, not giving his captain time to respond, "You can also chalk it up to my natural charisma that has been forged over thousands of years."

His captain gave a snort at that, "I would have called it 'clinical stupidity' but hey, that works to."

Himeko ignored her companion's words of indignant protest.

Several moments of silence passed by.

"Hey," The woman spoke up, her voice sounded concerned. "do you think we can beat the 6th?"

Einar's eyes widened in mild surprise. He knew alcohol loosened one's lips, but he half expected Himeko to be the exception to that rule.

"We wouldn't we? We've fought far stronger Herrschers than this one." The boy remained calm.

He had come up with some counters against the girl, he wasn't joking when he took over that duty from Mei. Granted, he is probably not as effective at it, but the point stands.

Himeko pursed her lips, "True, but those weren't immortal."

Einar laughed aloud at that, drawing odd looks from both his captain and other close by.

_Immortal...people use that term far too loosely. _The boy smiled bitterly to himself.

The boy spoke after he calmed down, "Take it from me, no one's immortal. She has extraordinarily high regeneration, I'll give you that, but there are still methods to take that away from her. Thus, she is not immortal."

Immortality was impossible to take away, and if it was given, then it can also be taken.

The only one that Einar would even think about granting that title was Kaguya, but even she could be killed. Although, even that was only if she allowed it.

"Oh yeah, then why are we just sitting here when that thing is out there destroying, who knows what!" The woman yelled out.

Luckily, the combination of the loud music, people talking, and Einar's control of the wind had rendered her voice inaudible. One aspect of his power that Einar had never though would be useful. Guess he was wrong.

"Because I'm not even sure they could work." The boy said with a dry tone.

He elaborated, "I could create chains that can most likely nullify her regeneration..."

He held up a hand to hand to stop Himeko as she opened her mouth.

"...but it uses a lot of stamina and even then I'm not sure if she could just regenerate like normal afterwards. We can't just burn her to atoms either, since she probably has her conscious stored in her core like the 1st. Which, in case you forgot, is indestructible."

"So, we can't do anything?" Einar had taken her glass for fear of her breaking it. He didn't want her to have glass shards stuck in her hand, he doubted that was fun.

The boy gave an apologetic smile, "Well, Mei can probably figure something out, and I'll help too when tomorrow rolls around."

The boy had no intention of getting in the way of Kevin and Mei's...date, get together? Either way, he still didn't want to interrupt them on one of the only times he had ever gotten them to take off of work.

Himeko had calmed down after a moment and began to speak more calmly, "Why do you care so much about Kevin and Mei's relationship? It's a bit worrying how much you seem to care."

"How is worrying for the wellbeing of the younger generation worrying?" Einar answered with faux anger at his captain's words.

"Just answer the question."

Einar sighed, it seems he wasn't getting out of this one.

"I suppose, I seem them as what I could have been if I had made different choices. What might have happened if things had gone in just another direction." He said with a melancholy voice and a reminiscent tone.

What if he never noticed that girl?

What if he was never decided to play hero?

What if he had made that promise?

What if? What if. What. If.

Those two words have driven him insane more times than he could count. It was only thanks to that person on a rainy day he learned not to dwell on what happened.

"_Regrets are a part of life," She had said. "If you never had anything you did wrong then life would be rather boring. Live a life full of regret, but never make the same one twice. Think of regret as a lesson, they tell you what not to do ever again."_

Hardly revolutionary advice, but it stuck with him for all this time.

"I just don't want to see my friends make the same mistakes I did. Nothing more or less than that. Completely selfish reasons." The boy finished with a chuckle.

And maybe that was true.

But before the crimson haired maiden could react to Einar's words, he got up from the stool he was seated on and brought his hands together with a clap.

"But enough about me. Today's Valentine's Day, let's go raid a chocolate factory!"

Himeko knew he was changing the topic, even in her slightly foggy mind she understood that.

_Oh well, _she thought with a mental shrug. _Just this once._

_We'll have time for me to pry out all of his secrets, eventually._

_I'll make sure we do._

**Author's notes: Valentine's Day still relevant anymore? No? Oh well, here you go anyway.**

**The only reason I wrote this was because it was a perfect time to expand a bit on some characters that haven't got any spotlight in a while. So, while it is a holiday chapter, it's still relevant to the story as seen by the opening scene. Easily the hardest chapter I've ever had to write though. I did not expect it to be so difficult. I also wanted to show that coming up with the solution to combating the regeneration of the 6****th**** Herrscher is not an easy feat. Although, anyone who's read the 2****nd**** War manga knows how this is going to end. Don't spoil it though, okay guys?**

**Not much else to say other than an observation. I realized I forgot to mention, Einar, the 5****th****, and the 6****th****'s Herrscher wings. Now, this really isn't a big deal at all, but it is worth a mention. We know that a Herrscher's wings are the physical manifestation of their power, but only another Herrscher can touch them without dying. In the manga, Kiana touches them, but she has the Core of Serenity, so she is technically a Herrscher. At the very least, she has the Honkai resistance of one. Even Einar might not be able to touch them with no repercussions.**

**My point is that I might go back and add them in, but they won't change the story in any way, shape, or form if I do.**

**Well, that's all folks! Thanks for reading and I'm sorry this came out so late!**

**Sayonara,**

**The Slow White Guy**


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